State of Affairs: A Virtual Season 11 Story
by SilverSnowdrop
Summary: Episode 7 up! SG1 travels to another Asgard protectorate, a lush jungle paradise with a tribal society and an odd mixture of technology and superstition.Wary of visitors, the natives greet them with hostility and imprison them as thieves. As he tries to negotiate his team's release, Mitchell builds a rapport with the local leader - but there may be more to her than meets the eye...
1. State of Affairs, pt 1

**This story is part of a plan to write a "virtual season 11" for this lovely show, which in my opinion had plenty of juice left for more storytelling. This is something I pitched to some of the wonderful people who write Stargate stories on this site (Myosotis and SC, in particular!), and they were kind and wonderful enough to encourage me to follow it through. And also to sit me down and explain how do it properly, because really by "pitched" I mean I was pretty much jumping up and down and going, "I want to know what happened after Continuum! Let's write all the things!" They patted me on the head and taught me how the whole story-writing process goes and outlined some nice hoops and milestones, and they've been all around wonderful and supportive collaborators.**

**So this is the plan right now: The stories we publish will be in chronological order (of course, not counting any time-travelling that SG1 is so fond of!), and will pick up where "Continuum" left off. (With the provision that none of us were too happy with how quickly "Ark of Truth" handled/ended the whole Ori conflict, so there's a little more vagueness about what happened after the Ori supposedly died and Adria ascended.) All the usual characters will certainly appear, and we'll keep the new characters to a minimum. This is an SG-1 story, people, and our answer to "what happened after the second movie?" is not "everyone went off to do their own thing and Mitchell found 4 new SG1 members". (not that that's not totally plausible. But we just can't bear to see them go yet...!) Major things that we're planning to tackle are the Asgard legacy, the new status of Earth as a major player in the galaxy and what old and new dangers that might bring, and of course the personal goals and growth of the characters. **

**Open formatting question: we can't quite agree on how to publish the separate 'virtual episodes'. I'm rooting for just publishing them as separate stories, but Myosotis is of the opinion that they should be chapters in one big story. Suggestions are welcome! Right now, this is being published as an individual story, but since it's the first one, that can easily be changed by the time the next 'episode' is ready. **

**Finally, after a little bit of research, I found there's another similar endeavour out there, and this is in no way shape or form meant to step on anyone's toes! We just came a little late to the game, but hopefully there's enough stargate love out there that people would want to read alternative stories of what may have happened after the end of "Unending" (or Continuum). So, while this project is not related to the other VS11 that's out there, it shares the similar (noble!) goal of telling the continued story of all the characters we fell in love with.**

**Okay, that's the end of this unending author note! Thanks for reading this, and thank you again to Myos and SC for helping out and being all around awesome partners in crime. **

**We hope you enjoy the story :). Please let us know what you think!**

_**State of Affairs: An SG-1 Story**  
_

_Prologue..._

"…and that's a dozen requests he's denied or ignored, and I think I'm getting the message loud and clear."

Colonel Samantha Carter pressed her lips together to contain a smile, as she gave the man walking alongside her a sympathetic glance. "I don't know, Daniel, maybe it's just not the right time. There's so much we need to understand about the Asgard legacy, and you _are_ the world's foremost expert on the Asgard culture and language…"

"The only expert, unfortunately," Daniel Jackson sighed. "Although Dr. Riggs was reading up on it before SG-8 had to spend weeks dealing with the supergate aftermath…"

They walked silently down the corridor for a moment, as they both remembered the long months at war with the Ori. Things were quieting down now, and it seemed that the worst of the battle was over…although no one knew for sure quite what had become of the Ori… or their leader, Adria. The powerful and ruthless Orici… and Vala's daughter. In a manner of speaking.

"Have you heard from Vala?" Apparently, Sam's thoughts had taken a similar direction. Daniel pushed away the last grim memories of the Ori war.

"She's still with the Tok'ra," he replied, "and it's no match made in Heaven, from what Landry says. Last I heard, half the council threatened to sever diplomatic ties if she doesn't leave soon."

Sam grimaced. She had seen Vala interact with the Tok'ra, and the mutual dislike was plain to anyone watching. "It's been, what, almost two weeks?" She was surprised the woman had lasted so long in their company. She must really want to help Ba'al's former host.

"Just about," Daniel agreed, and mentally he was able to tell that it had, in fact, been fifteen days exactly since Ba'al's (hopefully last) symbiote had been extracted in a quick but satisfying ceremony on the Tok'ra's new planet. "You'll notice that Landry has no problem about allowing _Vala's_ off-world project to go on for weeks. Meanwhile, if I so much as open my mouth about Atlantis…"

His voice took on a slightly huffy undertone, and Sam again had to hold back a smile. Daniel's failed attempts to get permission to go to Atlantis were becoming something of a running joke around the SGC. And while she was sympathetic to his frustration, she was also relieved every time Landry denied his requests… Daniel was perfectly capable of finding trouble right there on Earth, and Sam felt better knowing that she, and the rest of SG1, were at least within reasonable range when that inevitably happened.

"...dodged me in the hallway last week, and I'm pretty sure he's got Walter in on this, calling him on 'urgent business' whenever I go into his office..." Daniel continued to grumble. "And you know what he told me today? I'm 'needed on Earth'. We haven't even been on a mission for two weeks!"

"Someone has to go through and understand those Asgard databases," she reminded him as they came to a stop in front of an elevator.

"Yes, but I can go through the databases on Atlantis. Mitchell's off to Kansas, Teal'c's been at that Jaffa Nation summit for days, you're spending half your time working on the _Odyssey_, but I'm…grounded!" He all but threw his hands in the air. "And you know whose fault it is."

Sam gave him an uncertain smile, although she was fairly certain that he meant…

"Jack! This has Jack written all over it!"

The elevator _ding_ed to a stop, and the doors began to open.

"Yup, Major General O'Neill," Daniel steamrolled on. "You know, you'd think Homeworld Security would keep him busy enough to stay out of my business, but somehow even from DC he's managing to be a major pain in the –"

Daniel trailed off abruptly, as the elevator doors slid back completely, and he was finally able to process what was in front of his eyes.

"Mikta." Major General Jack O'Neill stepped out of the elevator with a satisfied grin. "I believe the word you're looking for, Danny boy, is 'mikta'. It doesn't mean 'neck'," he added in a conspiratorial whisper.

* * *

"At least this place hasn't changed at all since I was last here…" Jack trailed a finger along one of the bookshelves in Daniel's office, then held it up to the archaeologist for inspection. "D'ya make the cleaning crew go on strike again?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "That happened _once_. Are you ever going to let me live it down?"

Another Jack-like grin. "Nope."

Several years previous, and following a few unfortunate incidents, all the custodians in the SGC had gone to General Hammond and declared that none of them was willing to clean Dr. Jackson's office anymore, because of the risk of accidentally touching the variety of dangerous alien artefacts that the young archaeologist seemed to attract.

"Poor Gary," Jack shook his head, "his eyebrows never grew back quite the same."

"They grew back fine!" Daniel huffed. "And I _had_ told him repeatedly not to touch any of the artefacts…besides, how was I supposed to know how that sacred statue reacted to Lysol?"

Still wearing the same smirk, Jack picked up a Victoria's Secret catalogue from the armrest of the couch. "These are supposed to go _under_ the couch pillows, Daniel, not on top."

Another eye roll. "That's Vala's." He groaned when Jack dug up a bright pink tank top from behind a stack of books on the same couch. "That's Vala's, too…," he shook his head at the unspoken question in Jack's twinkling eyes, and was honestly surprised when the man's snooping also revealed some sort of nail polish kit, and a loofa. What the heck had Vala been _doing_ on that couch while he was busily poring over some translation at the desk?

"This is probably yours," Jack said helpfully, holding out something blue in his hand, which looked a lot like…

Oh, that's where that credit card had gone.

"Yup, that's mine."

Jack gave him a knowing look.

"So, what were you doing on base, again?" Daniel leaned against the edge of the desk, crossed his arms and gave his old friend a sour look. "Other than making sure I'm never setting foot anywhere on Atlantis again?"

The general tilted his head. "Old age is making you paranoid, Danny boy."

"Yeah well, at least it's not making me bald."

There was a short pause, where the two of them looked at each other, Daniel's expression expectant and a little wary as he wondered if he had accidentally gone too far with the banter, and Jack's expression blank, as he let the words echo between them.

Then Jack burst into laughter.

Daniel let a wide grin play on his lips. The wary expression vanished, and now he just looked pleased with himself.

"Bald?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

Daniel pretended to think about it for a second, then adopted a grave expression. "And a little…squishy," he added with a lopsided nod.

Jack laughed again. "That's what Washington life'll do to ya."

"Well, you could always come back to the Stargate program... I hear Atlantis might be looking for a leader."

The general shook his head. "You're like a dog with a bone." Then the mirth somewhat faded from his expression. He leaned against the bookshelf, watching Daniel with renewed focus. "Do you really want to go that badly?"

The younger man arched an eyebrow. "You mean, after the fifty requests that I put in?"

"Well, since I had the privilege of having to carefully consider most of those requests – and you still owe me a new paper shredder," (he ignored Daniel's glare) "I noticed a…pattern, you might call it," Jack said. "You always tended to get loud and obnoxious about it when things were...quiet. Y'know, no Goa'uld trying to take over the galaxy, no one threatening to blow up Earth on a vendetta…Not unlike the present," he pointed out. "No intergalactic crusade to stop, no more Ba'als, and suddenly there you are pestering Hank. Face it Daniel," he raised his eyebrows, "you only want to go to Atlantis because you're bored."

Daniel covered his face with his hands and groaned. "That's awful logic." Jack just waited in pointed silence. "It's not that I'm bored," he argued, "it's that at all the _other_ times you mentioned, I was a little _busy_ trying to _stay alive_ to put in Atlantis requests!"

"Nah," Jack shook his head. "You're bored. Carter's on the _Odyssey_, Teal'c's out with his Jaffa buddies, and even your space chick's off on the vacation from hell with the Tok'ra… and you're jealous that all the other kids get to go away for the summer and you don't."

There was another moment of silence, while Daniel opened his mouth several times to fire a retort, and never quite managed to find a good one. Finally, he leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes in resignation.

"I hate you," he informed Jack.

"Well, if _that's_ how you're gonna be, then maybe I'm going to ask Reynolds to go with me instead."

Daniel cracked open an eye. "Go? Go where?"

Jack smirked.

"Well, Daniel," he started, intentionally slow, "as it so happens, I didn't just drop by to listen to you call me old and fat." He grinned. "I heard SG1 had some down time, and I could use some help."

"Do I get to go to Atlantis afterwards?"

* * *

**This is it! Each story will be made out of three parts, and the action will be roughly episode-sized (we're still figuring out the details...suggestions welcome!), with both standalone bits and longer arcs. Right now there are about 4 or so episode-like stories written. I'll definitely try to post updates often, maybe once or twice a week. This is the first time I've tried to do anything on this scale, so any feedback and ideas are welcome! Like I said in the beginning, while I'm the main writer, this is definitely a collaborative effort and we're always happy and open to get input from others :). **

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. State of Affairs, pt 2

**Thanks so much to everyone who read, and in particular those of you who reviewed! Your feedback was useful and greatly appreciated! Right now it seems that the common opinion is keeping all the virtual episodes in one story (with maybe side stories). That lines right up with what I was thinking, so we're going to go with it for now! **

**Open question: how to show what characters are central to each episode/story (as we know, some episodes are more focused on one or two characters, and we'd like to showcase that). If anyone has any ideas on how to deal with that while keeping the format as one single story, please let us know!**

**Also, an episode guide and further details will be posted on my profile page shortly. **

_**State of Affairs, pt. 2**_

The pictures bore the grainy, out-of-focus mark of amateur photography, and the angles and bad lighting made it difficult to see the details. Still, it was clear that they all showed the same thing.

What was less clear, was what he was supposed to do with it.

"Are these…crop circles…?" Daniel looked up from the photos spread across the conference room table.

"I find that there's such a negative image associated with that, don't you think?" Jack maintained a perfectly serious expression. "The politically correct term would be 'crop formation'."

Daniel gave him an incredulous look. "You need my help with…crop circles." He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Is this some sort of prank? April Fools isn't for another few months."

"Ah, I see that you're a nonbeliever –"

Daniel cringed. "Bad word choice."

" – which is surprising," Jack continued, ignoring his comment, "considering that you've spent more than a decade chasing…or, more frequently, being chased by," he amended with a smirk, "_extra-terrestrials_." He spoke the last word in a hoarse whisper, with eyes widening for emphasis. "One would think you'd be a little more open-minded to alien theories," he added in his normal voice.

"Yeah, except the aliens we've met aren't exactly the kind to land UFOs at night in cornfields."

"These ones might be."

Daniel stared for a second. "You're not serious. You've actually come all the way here…from DC…because of crop circles." A short pause, then: "Are things _that_ boring over at Homeworld Security?"

Jack shrugged. "What can I say, it's just not the same when there's no one trying to blow up the planet. So," he leaned forward in his chair, "now that we've established that we're _both_ bored, how about you indulge me for a few minutes?"

"Really, Jack?"

The general raised his eyebrows. "It's not like you've got anywhere else to be."

Daniel's expression soured at the reminder. "Point taken," he said dryly. "By all means, tell me the story, Mulder."

* * *

"Sir." Carter greeted as she entered the General's office.

"Colonel." Landry indicated the chair next to his desk. "General O'Neill was looking for you and Dr. Jackson earlier."

"He found us," she smiled as she sat down. "He's asking Daniel to join him on his...project, as we speak." She tried to keep the doubtful edge out of her voice out of loyalty, but Landry's knowing look made it plain that he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Thankfully, he let it go. "So I hear. So tell me, Colonel, what can I do for you?"

"I'd like to take another quick trip to the _Odyssey_ later this week, Sir, if you don't need me on base. We've been having some problems with this temporal mismatch between our atomic clock and the Asgard particle timer, and I think I've found a solution that I'd like to try!"

"Ah, I see you're enjoying the down time. Relaxing, keeping your mind off work..."

Sam chuckled at the mild irony. "Exploring the Asgard technology _is_ fun, Sir," she pointed out. "Everyone on the technical crew loves it."

"I don't doubt it," Landry nodded. "Dr. Lee has mentioned – _repeatedly_," he added wryly, "that it's any scientist's dream to 'discover the mysteries of a race as technologically advanced as the Asgard'. I think he's resenting me for not allowing him to move on board," he joked.

"Well, he's right, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The technology, the _understanding _that the Asgard gave us is…vast, and brilliant, and the chance to explore it…" her eyes lit up with excitement, and she seemed ready to launch into a longer speech, but caught the General's amused visage. "Right," she cleared her throat, a little embarrassed. "The Asgard upgrades are a great chance to expand our understanding of science and the laws of the universe," she finished in a more subdued tone.

"That's what Dr. Lee says. " General Landry gave her another knowing look. "But I get the feeling that working on the _Odyssey_ is about more than that, to you."

Sam held his gaze silently for a moment, then nodded. Her expression grew serious. "Thor was…" She sighed. "A very good, very dear friend. He saved our lives more times than I can count."

"From what I understand, you returned the favour, too," Landry said softly.

"Once or twice." She smiled fondly at the recollection of all the times SG1 had worked together with Thor and the Asgard. Then the look in her eyes grew determined as she met the General's gaze again."Thor…the Asgard…they trusted us with the knowledge of their entire race. One of the four Great Races, and they gave _us_ everything they had." She swallowed hard. "Because they trusted that we'd make good use of it, and carry on their legacy. So you're right, Sir," she nodded gravely, "working on the _Odyssey_ is about more than just learning about new technologies. I promised Thor _personally_ that I'd do my best to make sure his legacy is used responsibly…and I plan to do exactly that."

There was a brief silence as the General pondered her words, and Sam recalled the events on the last voyage of the _Odyssey_. Landry, too, had made that same promise to Thor, and she knew that he, too, had meant it.

"Well, the first step to using their legacy well is to understand it," the SGC commander said finally, in a lighter tone. "And if anyone can do it, Colonel, I'm sure it's you."

Sam picked up on the attempt to lighten the mood, and smiled. "I sure hope so, Sir."

"And from what I'm seeing, I'm not the only one who thinks that. I receive requests every day to permanently reassign you to lead the _Odyssey_ engineering crew." He nodded to a small stack of papers next to the phone, then his expression grew serious. "If you were interested in that position, Colonel, I assume you'd let me know, correct?"

Sam felt her cheeks heat up. That was a question she had asked herself repeatedly over the past couple of months, ever since they had brought the _Odyssey_ home with the Asgard upgrades. The answer was not an easy one.

"Uh," she coughed to clear her voice. "Yes, Sir…I'd, uhm, let you know."

Landry gave her a sharp look, but he was not one to pry unnecessarily. "Good," he replied briefly, and dropped the issue altogether. "There was something else I wanted to discuss, Colonel." His eyes narrowed as he considered his next words. "I'd like you to look into something for me. Let's call it a…side project."

Sam's eyebrows rose up in surprise.

* * *

Jack set a thin folder on the conference room table. "A few months ago –"

"Should I be wearing my tinfoil hat for this?"

The quip earned Daniel a trademark 'you're-trying-my-patience' look.

"Ya done?" When the younger man held up his palms in resignation, Jack resumed. "Couple of months ago, I got a...tip. About these crop _formations_ turning up in unusual places. Forest clearings, mountain woods, remote and out-of-the way locations. And there's been rumours of sightings of…alien vessels." He paused for a moment. "What, no wisecracks?"

"I'm saving them for the end," Daniel informed him.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Our satellite network didn't detect any suspicious activity. Then again, the damn thing's been up and running for two years and it still pops gaps the size of small islands whenever a light bulb goes out."

"So…you're worried that an alien fleet is secretly invading us, going undetected through the satellite network, and leaving mysterious crop circles behind to…what? Taunt us?"

"A whole _fleet_ wouldn't make it past the sensors," Jack replied, choosing to ignore the sarcasm. "A single small ship, on the other hand, might not have that much trouble, especially if it's got a cloak, which, _need_ I remind you, the satellite network isn't that great at detecting."

For the first time in the conversation, Daniel seemed to concede the point. "Yeah, we should really do something about that."

"Already talked to Carter about it."

"So...you think a small ship's been sneaking past the sensor barrier and…what, hopping around the countryside giving UFO nuts something to talk about?"

Jack tapped the photos spread out on the table. "Take another look at the time stamps."

Daniel did so, and frowned in puzzlement. "They're…months apart." He moved the photos around to arrange them in chronological order. "And each new one was taken about a month and a half after the previous one." He met Jack's gaze, this time cautiously curious. "Okay…so that's a little weird, but it doesn't really prove anything. Hoaxers make crop circles all the time."

"Do those really look like circles to you, Daniel?"

With an exasperated sigh, the archaeologist picked up another photo.

"Well…kind of…I mean, they're not perfectly round, and they seem to maybe have … edges...I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered with a roll of his eyes, but continued to study the photos. "Okay, fine, they're pretty badly drawn circles, which only makes it more likely that they're the work of some kids playing a practical joke. This one doesn't even look like a circle, it looks more like a rounded…triangle…" He trailed off as he processed that, then an expression of disbelief crossed his face. "So, what, an Alkesh is out there making crop circ –_triangles_?"

Jack reached inside the thin folder, pulled out a paper, and wordlessly handed it over. After a few moments, he saw Daniel frown again.

"Most of the dates on this list match up pretty closely to the time stamps. What –"

"The times that the sensor network crashed over the past year."

When Daniel looked up again, the mocking twinkle was gone from his eyes.

"You think whoever was flying that ship took advantage of the blinks in the network to make it through undetected."

"Oh, I doubt they were just hovering around hoping to get a lucky break."

Daniel nodded, his expression grave. "You're saying that someone's been disrupting the sensors to make sure the ship stays off the radar." Jack silently stared back, his eyebrows raised meaningfully, so Daniel continued the train of thought. "It would have to be someone with enough authority to know about the satellite network, and have the power to tamper with it…I don't know, Jack," he shook his head, suddenly doubtful, "who would want to regularly sneak a small cloaked ship to Earth for, what, a year now? And why? And, no one's caught on to it yet? It's all a little…implausible."

With an eye roll, Jack pulled another sheet of paper from the folder and slid it across the table. "That, doubting Thomas, is the map of all the locations where these photos were taken."

There was a brief silence, as Daniel studied the map. Then he dropped it back on the table and sighed.

"Spots in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania. They're all within a few hours' drive of DC," Jack pointed out impatiently. "So is it possible that this is all a bunch of kids playing a prank? Yeah. Is it possible that someone in DC's been messing with the satellite network to sneak a little alien tourism business right under our noses? _Also,_ yes." He leaned forward in his seat again. "You'll notice the last timestamp was about six weeks ago. My…source…has information that another ship will fly in some time in the next few days. So…how'd ya feel about a little field trip?"

* * *

"At least being head of Homeworld Security comes with nice flying perks." Daniel leaned back in the comfortable leather seat and adjusted his seatbelt. "Maybe to compensate for the increased paranoia," he muttered in an undertone, though loud enough to be heard.

Jack tossed a bag of peanuts at him in response.

"So, how come Sam's not coming with us? Actually – how come you don't have a team of your HS people on this?"

"Because we're going to investigate _crop circles_, Daniel." Jack arched an eyebrow. "Not exactly the kind of mission ya wanna pitch to the President."

"Ha! So you _do_ think it's a wild goose chase!"

"_No_, Daniel, _I_ think it's real, and if it were up to _me,_ we'd be sending teams to all the possible landing places from Jersey to South Carolina. Unfortunately, that's not how the game works."

"So why'd you refuse General Landry's offer to send an SG team with us?" Privately, Daniel had been surprised that Landry had offered at all, but apparently the SGC General had been up to date on Jack's suspicions and not nearly as sceptical.

Jack sighed. "Because any mission involving an SGC team needs to be planned, detailed and entered on record," he explained, "and if someone in DC _is_ behind this business, I'd rather not write to them and let them know we're coming."

Daniel bit his lips to keep from making another paranoia-related comment. "Okay," he said instead, "but now there's only you and me, and about ten possible landing locations based on your extrapolations of that map." He took a sip of soda, and gave Jack a doubtful look above the rim of the can. "It's gonna be a little hard to cover all that space with just the two of us."

"It's not _going_ to be just the two of us, Daniel."

"No?" The archaeologist looked confused. "I thought you said you weren't bringing anyone from Homeworld."

Jack opened his own can of soda with a loud _pop_. "I'm not."

Daniel tilted his head. "Are you being intentionally obscure?"

Jack smirked. "I am."

"I hate it when you do that."

* * *

The wormhole blinked out of existence, leaving the gate room just a shade darker. Teal'c paused for a moment to take in his surroundings, nodding briefly to himself as he noticed that all appeared well, then he walked down the ramp, raising a greeting hand to Walter in the control room. A familiar face met him just as he stepped into the corridor.

"Colonel Carter." He inclined his head in his customary greeting, but was not surprised when the woman gave him a quick hug.

"Teal'c, welcome back!"

"It is good to be back," he smiled. "I am surprised to find you here. I believed you were aiding the technical crew working on the _Odyssey_."

"Well, I'm kinda going back and forth a little bit," she admitted. "I have a few ongoing projects here that I like to check up on. So, how was the summit on Chulak?"

Teal'c's expression took on the slightest hint of dissatisfaction, and he thought for a long moment before replying:

"The Jaffa people are finding it...challenging...to agree on a common path. There have been too many directions in our recent past. People are conflicted, and their loyalties divided...many still feel more loyalty to their factions than to the Free Jaffa as a united nation."

Sam nodded sympathetically. "It's not easy to form a nation from many groups with different ideologies and priorities. Several countries in our history have faced similar dilemmas."

"I believe Daniel Jackson has mentioned this. How did your planet's nations solve this?"

She took a moment to consider it. "Uh...a lot of different ways." The worse examples came to her mind first. War. Tyranny. Bloodshed. "I think the way that worked was...finding a common message...a common ground...a common enemy, a common god...some sort of middle point where all the different parties could meet."

Teal'c's voice bore a hint of sadness. "The Jaffa have had common gods, and they were false gods who enslaved us, and became our common enemy. Yet that has not been enough to make our nation strong. We stand together to rebel, stand together to fight, but now when the times of conflict have passed,we are divided." He looked down at her when they stopped by the elevator. "I believe you are right, Colonel Carter. The Free Jaffa do not have a common message to seal our nation past the times of war."

She put a comforting hand on his arm. "It takes time, Teal'c. Time for the Jaffa to realize what it is that matters to them, and what they want. They'll come together as a true nation, in time."

He dipped his head. "Perhaps. That is my hope." There was a brief, comfortable silence between them, then Teal'c spoke again. "Yet I have grown...impatient. Hearing the faction leaders squabble makes me wish to confine them together in narrow quarters until they have resolved their differences."

Sam smiled. "Trust me, that's a pretty common way to feel when you're trying to get people to work together."

He gave her an inquisitive look as they stepped inside the elevator. "Has that strategy worked for any Tau'ri nations in the past?"

This time, she chuckled. "I'm not sure, actually. You'll have to ask Daniel."

"Perhaps I will indeed, Colonel Carter." Teal'c nodded. After another brief silence, he asked with just the right note of polite curiosity. "Has Daniel Jackson departed for Atlantis yet?"

Sam grinned. "No, no he has not."

"Indeed." Teal'c's expression was perfectly straight. "When I left to attend the summit, he appeared quite determined to do so."

This time, Sam couldn't hold back a chuckle. Teal'c's particular brand of deadpan humour could always make her laugh.

"Oh, he's determined, alright," she agreed.

* * *

Daniel shut the car door, and slipped the straps of his backpack over his shoulders. The he hurried to catch up with Jack, who was already walking away from the crowded parking lot into the streets of Arlington, VA.

"Okay, _now_ can you tell me?"

"Patience is a virtue, Daniel." Jack was clearly amused by his curiosity.

"One I can do without," the other grumbled. "Why won't you just tell me who else you recruited for your little UFO hunt?"

"Because I enjoy watching you whine about it for four hours straight," the general said dryly. "Besides, we'll be there in a few minutes and you'll find out."

"It's not like I can change my mind and turn back."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Jack muttered.

The sidewalk was wide enough to allow four people to walk side by side, but crowded enough that Daniel had to constantly fall behind a step or two to allow bikes, parents pushing prams, or large groups of loud students to pass in the opposite direction. "Excuse me," he sighed as a young man with a particularly large backpack rammed into him. "What on Earth are we doing here, anyway? This isn't exactly your neighbourhood."

"We're meeting a…friend," Jack said with a slight hesitation, "and maybe the rest of our manpower."

"This isn't _Mission Impossible_, you know," Daniel rolled his eyes. "Just tell me who you got to come with us on this wild goose chase."

"There we are." Jack ignored his question, and instead grabbed his arm and ducked into a small coffee shop that buzzed with activity. He paused for a moment to get his bearings, then…"Table near the back."

"What, no meeting under a remote bridge at midnight?" Daniel quipped as they made their way to the back of the coffee shop. "I'm at least hoping your mysterious partner turns out to –"

For the second time that day, Daniel's words completely failed him, as they finally reached the high round table and he set eyes on the person they were meeting.

"Hi, Daniel." A slender young woman with long strawberry blonde hair jumped down from her chair and hugged him. Then she turned to Jack. "Okay, you win… he doesn't look at all happy to see me."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Drop us a line and let us know what you think. We're always happy for new ideas and new collaborators on this somewhat huge and slightly scary project:). **

**Note: I said last time that each story would be published in 3 parts. This one has 12,000 or so words, so it will end up split in 4 parts. (also because I did not realize how long it was when I posted the first chapter.) In the future, I'll try to stick to the 3-part format, although it will also depend on what the natural breaks in the story are. **

**And again, episode guide & further details coming soon to my profile page! **


	3. State of Affairs, pt 3

**Thank you for reading & to all of you who left a review! Your continued feedback is great and so useful! **

_**State of Affairs, pt. 3**_

"Don't give me that look, Teal'c, it's just a little..." 'Wild goose chase' was the term she would have picked, but it felt disloyal. "...detective business," Sam finished diplomatically. "It didn't sound all that dangerous..."

...or plausible, really.

Teal'c, however, wore a suspicious frown. "O'Neill and Daniel Jackson are alone on a mission?"

Sam conceded the point with a few quick nods. Yes, that did not fill her with confidence, either. But...

"It's not really a mission, it's… more of a field trip." She took a sip of her coffee, and silently wondered if there was something that Asgard technology could do for the cafeteria espresso machine. "The general's just following an anonymous tip."

Under the Jaffa's keen gaze, Sam felt ashamed that she had not asked for, or could not remember, more details. She had been so busy with the Asgard technology and travelling back and forth that Jack's conspiracy theory had mostly slipped through the cracks.

"Perhaps we should accompany them," Teal'c suggested. "I, too, am qualified to conduct..." he paused, frowned to remember her term, "...detective business."

That elicited a chuckle from the colonel. "I offered," she replied, "the general assured me it wasn't necessary."

Teal'c's visage only became more suspicious.

Sam shrugged. "I think he mentioned getting some of his people to help. And Daniel's with him...how much trouble can the two of them and a team of Homeworld operatives really get into just by chasing crop circles...?"

The Jaffa raised his eyebrows. "The _Odyssey_ could be used to transport us to their location, is that not correct?"

Sam laughed at his implied response.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," she reassured him. "And they have back-up…"

"Indeed." Teal'c still looked utterly unconvinced.

* * *

It required substantial effort for Daniel to restrain himself long enough to sit down and ask the waitress for a club soda. As soon as she left their table, he could finally hold it in no longer.

"Cassie? _Cassie_?" He stared at Jack with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. "This is your plan? You want to bring our _goddaughter_ on a mission to uncover potentially hostile aliens travelling illicitly to Earth?"

"Five minutes ago you thought it was a wild goose chase," Jack muttered.

"That was before I knew you were planning to involve Cassie in it!"

"And _that's,_" Jack pointed at him with a finger, "why I didn't tell you."

"Are you crazy?" Daniel's eyes widened in realization. "_That_'s why Sam isn't coming with us. You wouldn't have made it off that base alive if she'd known about this… "

Jack looked a little uncomfortable.

"Cassie is..."

"_Not going_." Daniel waved an exasperated hand at the young blonde, who was watching the whole exchanged with an amused smirk. "She's just…what…"

"Twenty," Cassie supplied helpfully. She laughed at Daniel's stricken expression. "Oh stop looking so surprised, what did you think, that I'd stay a kid forever?"

Luckily, the waitress brought over Daniel and Jack's drinks, giving him a few seconds to recover.

"You _are_ a kid, as far as I'm concerned," he countered when the waitress left again. "And you're definitely not gonna go … traipsing around the woods looking for a cloaked ship in the middle of the night."

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Relax, Daniel. Jack's right, everything will be just fine." She took a sip of her drink, and Daniel's eyes widened.

"Is that _beer_?" He stared, open-mouthed, for a second, then rounded on Jack again. "What have you been _teaching_ her?"

Jack gave Cassie a sideways glance. "Ya _couldn't_ just order the lemonade, could ya?"

She mouthed 'oops', and gave a little chagrined shrug. "Okay, you're right. Here," she pushed the glass over to Daniel. "You can have it."

"I don't _want_ it," he said with an eye roll, "it's that you weren't sup – you know what, one disaster at a time." He turned back to Jack. "She's not coming with us."

"Would you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Cassie sounded peeved. "I can make my own decision, you know."

"Not in this case, you can't." Another glare at Jack. "What on Earth were you thinking?"

"_He_ wasn't thinking anything!" she snapped. "Jack doesn't get to make my decisions, either! I'm going to be part of this, and you're not going to stop it."

"Uhm…actually, I think I will." Daniel sounded wary, but determined.

She crossed her arms and glared across the table. "And how exactly do you plan to do that? I can go wherever I please."

"Yes, you're right," he agreed, "except…not on this mission."

"This isn't a 'mission'," she pointed out, then gave a self-satisfied grin. "Face it, Daniel, there's nothing you can do about it, so you might as well just go with it."

Jack decided to intervene before the younger man burst a vein.

"Look, Cassie's the one who brought this whole thing to my attention."

"I don't care if she's –what?" Daniel was brought up short as he processed the information. "What do you mean?"

Instead of replying himself, Jack turned the young woman, giving her an expectant look.

"He means, I'm the one who noticed the pattern in the first place," she said, a little haughtily. "You see, despite what you seem to think, I do have a brain of my own."

"I never –"

"_Ah_!" Before Daniel could protest, Jack held up a finger to shut him up. "You, listen. And _you_," he turned to Cassie, "just tell the story, no running commentary please."

The young woman pursed her lips, but complied. "Fine. The story is, I found out about the weird crop circles, I saw the photos, I realized it might be something important, so I told Jack about it when we met for_ lemonade_ last month."

"How on Earth did you find out…?"

For the first time, Cassie looked uncomfortable. "A, uhm…" She cleared her throat. "A friend from school is…into this whole…alien conspiracy thing. Thinks aliens are among us, imagine that." She gave a little smile. "So he and his buddies keep an eye out for this sort of thing, and when these incidents started happening all of a sudden, it ended up on one of their weird sites and they got really excited about it… and then he mentioned it to me at some point…and he talked about it until I started to see the pattern, so I told Jack."

Daniel lowered his face into his palms. "Your mysterious tip was Cassie. Great."

"Anyway…" Cassie continued a little unsurely, "I put together the list of dates and locations, and used a simple algorithm to extrapolate a time frame for when the next visit would be. If my calculations are correct…"

The two men exchanged a glance. They'd heard Sam give versions of the same speech about a hundred times. The calculations were usually correct.

"…it should be sometime this week. Probably…and uhm," she cleared her throat again, "I also did a little research and looked for locations that were similar to all the previous landing sites and, well, we've got a short list of candidates."

Daniel shook his head, impressed almost against his will. "You did all that on your own?"

"I had a little help," Cassie admitted, "but…yeah, mostly. It wasn't that hard," she said, suddenly shy about the praise.

"Actually, that's really impressive, Cassie." Daniel smiled. "But…I still don't think you should come along. This is dangerous. Whoever's on that ship, is probably not friendly, or else they wouldn't land clandestinely in remote woods in the middle of the night."

"I'm not planning to jump out and tackle them," she huffed. "We'll just…hang out behind the tree line and…observe what's going on."

"_We_?"

Cassie shrugged. "Well, my friends are in on this too. They _are_ the ones who first found out about the landing signs, remember?"

Daniel shot Jack an incredulous look. "Your 'manpower' is a bunch of UFO-chasing college kids, and our goddaughter?"

Jack held up his hands. "Not my first choice either – no offense, kiddo," he said to Cassie as an aside. "But this bunch of UFO-chasing kids are going with or without us, so we might as well use them to keep an eye out on some of the potential landing sites."

Taking advantage of Daniel's momentary stunned silence, Cassie hurried to pull out a printed map from her pocket. The sites were marked with black X's. "These are the three most likely places they'll go, by my calculations," Cassie tapped the paper with a finger. "So, we can each take one of those. And I'll send the rest of my friends to the other locations, just in case. If we see any action, we'll call." She beamed. "Perfect plan!"

Daniel felt a headache coming on. "And at which point in this perfect plan did you consider what happens if an alien ship actually lands near a group of college kids with camera phones?"

"Don't worry, Daniel." Cassie winked. "If there really is a cloaked ship that's causing all this, it'll almost certainly land at one of our three sites. Plus, all these guys are cool, they wouldn't freak out or anything if they do happen to see an alien ship. And they'd probably be thrilled to keep our secret!"

Daniel shot Jack a withering glare. "Yup, that's reassuring."

* * *

"Ya know Daniel, if I'd known that this was all it took to make ya shut up, I'd have taken the kid on all our missions."

The archaeologist did not deign the comment with a reply, choosing instead to glare at Jack from the passenger seat of their rental car.

After a few seconds, Jack gave him a sideways glance. "Well, now that I know the secret, I must use this power for good..."

Another half a minute passed, and finally the older man lost his patience. "Oh c'mon, Daniel! Would ya stop _sulking_? It's gonna give you premature wrinkles."

"How could you bring Cassie into this!" Daniel finally exploded. "What if she gets hurt! What were you thinking? No, you know what, I don't even want to know. I'm stopping this before she gets in trouble…" he fumbled around the seatbelt in his jacket pocket.

Jack gave him another glance. "What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Sam!"

"Oh fer cryin' out – give that over here, would ya," Jack reach over and snatched the phone out of Daniel's hands. "Last thing I need right now is another lecture."

The younger man stared at him incredulously. For a brief moment, he entertained the horrible thought that perhaps something was wrong with Jack. He'd seemed so…normal, earlier, but now he was behaving completely out of character! Was it an impostor? Daniel eyed him warily. He _looked_ like Jack… but the man he knew would never put Cassie in danger like that. Or act so dismissive about it. What was _wrong_ with him?

Jack watched him from the corner of his eye. "What?"

Daniel cleared his throat. He had to approach this carefully. "Can I, uh…have my phone back, please?" Maybe he could dial Sam unobser –

"No you may _not_. I know that look."

That ended Daniel's desire for a polite approach. "So what, you're planning to just dump me alone in the middle of some remote woods, at night, without a phone?"

It was Jack's turn to stare at him incredulously. "Daniel, I couldn't leave you alone in a padded room with a panic button without you getting in trouble." He shook his head and tossed the younger man his phone. "There. And I'm not dumping ya anywhere, we're both going to the first location on that list. Now would ya please quit with the…deer in the headlights look?"

Well, that _sounded_ like Jack. Daniel quickly moved the phone out of reach, but hesitated a moment before dialling.

"Look, Cassie can't go alone to some deserted forest to watch out for illegal alien visitors…" he tried to reason. To his surprise, Jack rolled his eyes.

"First, she's not alone."

Daniel pursed his lips. "Yes, that makes it much better. Send Cassie and _her boyfriend_ alone to a deserted forest to wait for UFOs."

"And second,_ if my calculations are correct, _there are about a couple hundred people in that forest right now."

That gave the younger man pause. "I thought she put together the list of likely landing sites…and they were all remote and unpopulated…"

"Just because a corner of the woods is _usually_ unpopulated, doesn't mean that a medieval festival can't suddenly have to move there after a government event requires their original venue."

Daniel stared.

"If that ship's trying to stay off the radar, it ain't gonna land in the middle of Camelot," Jack continued, "so if that _was_ their planned landing site, they'll reroute to a more convenient location. And _Cassie's_ just gonna have a nice night 'round a campfire, eating pork leg with her bare hands and listening to a dozen nerdy arguments about the latest jousting competition."

It took a few more moments for Daniel to get over his bafflement. "What if she decides to leave and go to one of the other sites?" He pulled out the map and checked it. "The closest one is just an hour's drive."

"Girl scouts camping trip. Their planned destination was shut down for the week because of bear sighting rumours."

Silently, Daniel checked the map once more. "There's the wildlife preserve in –"

"The highway that leads there from DC is shut down for about twenty miles," Jack said casually. "Maintenance."

Finally, the archaeologist put the map back on the dashboard. "That leaves one most likely landing site, the state forest in Virginia...and we're driving to it."

For a moment, they drove in silence down the dark highway, then...

"Huh." Daniel sounded bemused. "Guess it's my fault. I forgot."

Jack rolled his eyes. "What d'ya forget this time?"

"That you…usually…actually…know what you're doing." He rubbed a hand over his eyes, and chuckled. "You know Cassie's gonna be furious when she figures out you sent her on a wild goose chase."

"Eh...she's a kid, what's she gonna do?"

"Did you actually reroute a medieval festival and a girl scouts trip? And shut down a highway?"

"Only for twenty miles or so," Jack corrected.

"Enough to make whoever's heading out to rendezvous with that ship ask them to reroute, _especially_ if there are no other easy ways to get to that landing site."

"That was the plan."

Daniel grinned. "Very...imaginative."

Jack shot him a wry look. "Why, thank you, Daniel. Now will you put that damn phone away? I got a feeling Carter wouldn't be as easily impressed."

"Oh, yeah," Daniel slipped the phone back into his pocket. "You'd need more than a hundred medieval knights and girl scouts for her to forget you got Cassie involved in this in the first place."

"Her involvement ended when we left that cafe, and you can apologize any time, by the way."

"I could…" Daniel grinned impishly. "_Or_, I could agree not to tell Sam that you're letting Cassie have beer on your watch, and we'd call it even."

Jack's eyes flickered briefly in his direction, and the older man smirked. "Smartass."

* * *

Teal'c was surprised to hear an indignant shriek from Colonel Carter's office, and he entered with more caution than usual. He found her on the phone, and judging by the flush in her cheeks and the menacing glint in her eyes, she was...

...what was the Tau'ri expression for it? Ah, yes...having a domesticated bovine.

"S_onofa _–" Sam caught herself with an effort, snapping her mouth shut to avoid from completing the expletive. "Teal'c!" Her gaze landed on him, and the Jaffa fought the urge to take a step back. "Okay, thanks for telling me," she growled into the receiver. "I have to go, but this discussion is _so_ not over."

"Is something wrong, Colonel Carter?"

"Me!" She rushed to grab her jacket from a chair in the corner. "_I_ was wrong, you were right, I should've known better, let's go! "

Teal'c decided the wisest course of action was to follow her lead and stay out of her way.

* * *

The low branch Daniel had tried to push out of the way came back and hit his shoulder, prompting him to let out a muffled curse and take a step sideways, only to get caught in some underbrush.

The bright beam of Jack's flashlight turned to him.

"Could ya make a little more noise, Daniel, I don't think they heard us coming from orbit."

"Funny," the archaeologist muttered, trying to pry his pant leg free of the twigs and leaves that had snagged it. "This wouldn't be happening if we'd just driven up that nice forest road instead of trying to hike to the clearing in pitch blackness."

"Whoever's coming to meet the ship will probably take that road," Jack explained for the fifth time, "so _we_ need to stay off it if we're gonna find out who we're dealing with. Now c'mon, George of the jungle, get moving or it'll be morning by the time we get anywhere near that landing site."

"_Alleged_ landing site," the younger man muttered, ducking under yet another branch as he trudged through the thick woods behind Jack. "Can I just point out that we haven't heard a sound or seen any indication that there actually is anyone else in these woods?"

Far enough ahead that he would have been impossible to see, if not for the flashlight, Jack did not seem worried. "Someone in DC tampered with that sensor system to sneak a ship through, and they're gonna want to rendezvous whoever was on that ship."

"I almost hope that's true, because otherwise you just dragged me halfway across the country for the world's worst camping trip."

"Shh." Suddenly the older man stopped. He turned off the flashlight, and Daniel quickly followed. "Listen."

A whirring sound was coming from somewhere to their far left, and judging by the increasing volume, it was getting closer. Within seconds it became a nearly deafening roar that seemed to emanate from all around, and a wave of intense heat washed over the two of them as they crouched down in a protective stance at the base of a tree. Then after another few seconds, the noise reduced, and heat slowly began to dissipate.

Jack was the first to get up, and he pulled Daniel after him. "Any more objections?" he panted as they ran in the direction of the now-fading _whirr_.

"Nope," Daniel said under his breath, "we're chasing a hostile spaceship, on foot, through deserted woods…what's there to object to…?"

* * *

Jack signalled Daniel to slow down when they heard the rumble of a car engine nearby. Soon they could see the strong beams of two headlights through the trees ahead. The car did not seem to be moving, so Jack pulled Daniel further back into the woods, and they went around in a wide circle before finding a good place to observe the rendezvous without being seen.

Once they were in place, Jack pulled out two pairs of night vision goggles and a listening device, which he pointed in the direction of the car. It took a few seconds to adjust, but eventually the sound of scrambled voices came through the small speaker. They listened for a few moments, then Jack shook his head.

"Either I'm having a stroke, or that's not English."

Next to him, Daniel frowned in concentration. "I think it's Mandarin Chinese…it's hard to tell..." he fumbled with the dial on the listening device until the sound became more clear. "But I'm pretty sure it's Mandarin."

"Can you make out what they're saying?"

The younger man shook his head. "Barely…the guy's talking really fast…I think he's saying something about bad traffic…he might be the driver…"A woman's voice rang out, interrupting the other. "She's ordering him to … pay attention, I think…and be ready to unload the trunk…"

"Sounds like the lady's in charge," Jack commented. "Too dark to tell if it's anyone we know…but looks like Han and Chewie are about to join the party."

Sure enough, through the trees they could see two silhouettes approach the car from the center of the clearing.

"_Did you bring it?_" the woman's voice switched to English. ("There ya go," Jack said approvingly.)

One of the silhouettes held something up and passed it to the woman. She inspected it briefly.

"_Only this?_"She sounded incredulous.

"…_enough for a hundred people,_" came a different voice, raspy and with a mocking undertone.

That seemed to satisfy her, as she put the object, too small to see from a distance, in her pocket.

"_And our payment?_"

The woman said something in Mandarin, and her driver walked over to the trunk and pulled out a large suitcase. It seemed heavy, too, as it took him some effort to carry it to the others. The raspy-voiced man bent down to open it, and let out a satisfied grunt.

"_And take this to your employers_." She extracted a much smaller silver briefcase from the front seat of the car. "_It's another prototype, complete with schematics. They'll know what to do with it._"

Jack and Daniel exchanged a glance.

"Her voice sounds familiar," the archaeologist said. "I'm not sure though…"

"Who?"

Daniel rubbed his cheek. "Shen Xiaoyi…she was one of the IOA delegates who went with us to the Gamma site that one time. We uh…kept in touch, a little bit" he cleared his voice. "I'm not sure it's her though, it might just be that she also spoke Mandarin and …" he noticed Jack's look. "What?"

The older man sighed. "You have a…taste…in women, Daniel."

The listening device crackled again before he could reply.

"_And our…other cargo?_" the raspy-voiced man was asking.

"_On its way. Our partner was slightly delayed…ah, that must be him, now._"

Jack and Daniel watched as another car, this time a black van, pulled up to the first. "Whaddaya know, it's a whole party…"

A man got out from the passenger seat, and they caught a glimpse of his face.

"Whoa, isn't that –"

Jack groaned. "Yeah."

"I thought he was supposed to be dead."

"It's never that easy."

"_Gentlemen…and lady. Apologies for the delay…much as our technology has evolved, I'm afraid we haven't quite yet solved the issue of traffic jams._" He stopped in front of the others. "_Everything's in order, then?_"

"_We were just waiting for you,_" the woman replied. "_Did you bring them?_"

"_Of course._" He waved back at the van, and the side doors opened to allow four other men to stop out. Two of them bore weapons, while the other two stumbled unsurely, their hands tied in front of them and black hoods covering their faces. "_Cream of the crop…or so I hear_."

"Hostages?" Daniel whispered.

The general did not reply, but instead pulled out his handgun and made sure it was loaded. Through the listening device, they could hear the muffled whines of the two hostages as the armed men pushed them forward.

"_What, these two?_" The raspy-voiced man sounded even more mocking than before. "_Scrawny and whiny. They wouldn't last three days in a mine._"

"_They have their uses_," the woman replied. "_Your employers have their instructions on what to do with them_. _You just deliver them in one piece_."

"They're planning to send the hostages with the ship." Daniel sounded horrified. "You think they've been doing that for a whole year? Kidnapping people?"

Jack put down the listening device and checked his gun again. "Daniel, I want you to call Landry and tell him what's going on."

"Yeah, you're not going in there alone."

"This isn't up for discussion. Someone needs to ask for back-up and let people know –"

"I'll send them a text. Now, we can stay here and debate, or" he pointed toward the people in the clearing, who were starting to move apart, "you can give me your back-up gun and we can move before that ship takes off with the hostages."

Jack swore under his breath, but held out his gun. "Don't get shot, or Carter'll never let me hear the end of it."

"Nice to know you still care," Daniel muttered, as they both moved slowly through the trees toward the clearing.

* * *

**I know technically the whole of SG1 aren't Cassie's godparents... but really they do serve that role, and I assume if people ask her who they are, she would have an easier time saying "godparents" then "the team who found me and made sure my inbuilt naquadah bomb didn't go off. We stayed in touch!". So, artistic license :)**

**Thank you for reading! We love to hear from you!**


	4. State of Affairs, pt 4

**Thanks to everyone who's reading & reviewing this story! **

**Can I just say that I love discovering all the fancy options that this site has for publishing. For instance, the traffic stats option that shows you the readers' different countries. It's so cool! Right now we have representatives from all the continents reading this story! (except Antarctica. Probably because whoever lives there is too angry that we took their stargate to want to read more about what happened afterwards.) **

_**State of Affairs, pt. 4**_

* * *

"Here you go."

Cassie turned and smiled when the young man handed her a large wooden mug filled with something that smelled vaguely like apples.

"I think we have to share, though, couldn't find another mug that didn't leak. So," he noticed the small phone in her hand, "did anyone else have better luck?"

"Uhm...Pete and Laney ran into some kids' camping trip, but that's about it. Everyone else says it's quiet."

"At least we got the fun site," the young man pointed out, laughing when two people in front of a nearby tent engaged in a mock sword fight. "What about your friends, anything on their end?"

Cassie pursed her lips. She would get Jack back for this. "Nope. Not a thing. Sorry," she sighed after a second, "I hope you're not too disappointed..."

"Are you kidding? If it's not tonight, it'll be tomorrow, or another night!" His eyes lit up with excitement. "You saw those photos, there's no way anything other than a spaceship made those marks. I'm telling you Cas, we're onto something here... can you imagine, meeting a real live alien?"

Cassie dipped her head and a took a long sip from the chunky wooden mug.

* * *

The driver of the black van had just opened the door to climb back in when two flashlight beams blinded him, and a shout came from the treeline.

"Alright people, this is Homeworld Security! Time to break up this party –"

That was as far as Jack got before a salvo of gunfire rained on the source of the lights and the voice. Immediately, return gunshots rang out from a completely different side of the clearing, and two of the armed men fell down with painful cries. The hostages started screaming and threw themselves on the ground, while everyone else took cover and returned fire blindly.

Crouched behind one of the thicker trees, Jack reloaded his gun. "I said 'break up the party'," he shouted, "didn't anyone teach you, that means you're supposed to stop shootin' and surrender! Fer cryin' out loud!"

Gunfire was the only response.

"Forget about him, just get out of here!" the woman ordered the ship's pilots. She shoved one of the hostages toward the ship. "Take them and the prototype back to your bosses!"

More gunshots rang out when one pilot tried to grab the second hostage from the ground, so he let go and ran for the ship instead. The two drivers and the passenger of the black van were still returning fire. The woman scrambled across the clearing and shouted something in Mandarin to her driver, who immediately ran for the car.

"Take care of him," she yelled to the others as she climbed into the passenger seat. "Go!" she ordered the driver.

Right as he started the engine, another series of shots rang out from the patch of trees right behind the car. Two of them hit the windows, another the door.

"There's two of them!" one man shouted, and immediately their gunfire changed targets.

"There!" another pointed at a moving silhouette right behind the tree line.

The woman's car pulled out and blocked their view before they could get a good aim, and by the time she was gone, so was their target. Across the clearing, a hatch seemed to open out of thin air. One of the pilots ran through and vanished from view, while the other tried to drag a hostage over. The second hostage had made his way into the trees, and was stumbling around, trying to take cover.

"Move or die, worm," the pilot rasped, giving the still captive hostage a hard shove toward the open hatch. "Inside! Now!"

"Sorry, no carry-on allowed on this flight." Jack stepped out from around the cloaked ship and tackled the man, sending the two of them rolling into the gunshots echoed from the far side of the clearing, along with indistinct shouts.

Suddenly the black van's engine rumbled to life. A few last shots rang out amid a stream of swearwords, then the gunfire ceased.

"He's dead, let's go!" one of the men shouted.

"…you sure?" Their voices were partly drowned out by the distance and the noise of the engine.

Jack shoved his opponent off him and tried to scramble to his feet. "Daniel!" The man tried to get him in a chokehold, and the general turned back with renewed anger, delivering a few strong punches that sent the other reeling. "Daniel!"

The black van was pulling out of the clearing.

Jack surveyed the area with an anxious gaze. "Damn it, Daniel, where the hell –" Aided by instinct, he threw himself out of the way at the last second, and an energy blast flew right by him. He rolled away, heard another blast hit the ground that he had just been on, and braced for the inevitable hit.

Instead he heard a muffled grunt and the last shot went wide.

He looked up to see Daniel and the pilot locked in a clumsy sort of close-body combat. The archaeologist managed to deliver an admittedly impressive punch to the other man's jaw, right before falling for a very obvious feint and getting knocked off his feet. Luckily, he rolled within range of the man's dropped weapon, managed to grab it and squeezed off a couple of shots. Terribly aimed as they were, they were enough to send the pilot running for the open hatch.

"What the heck did you think you were doing?" Jack helped Daniel up, fighting the urge to pat him down and make sure nothing was broken.

"Saving your life," the younger man grumbled "you're welcome, by the way."

"Next time, just _shoot_ the bad guy, Jean-Claude."

"Funny. I ran out of bullets trying to stop that car."

The hatch closed with a metallic screech, and a familiar _whirr_ filled the clearing, indicating that the ship was close to taking off.

"Come on, as soon as that ship's up in the air, they're gonna toast us." The general looked around for the two hostages, both of whom were still stumbling around in confusion, not knowing which direction to run in. "Get into the woods!" he shouted, then, pulling Daniel along, helped herd them as far from the clearing as possible.

Within moments, the heat wave and loud noise confirmed that the ship was indeed taking off.

"Maybe they've had enough and they'll just leave us alone," Daniel suggested as the four of them stumbled through the trees.

"Yeah." Jack risked a glanced back, just in time to see a Tel'tak drop its cloak right above the clearing. "Then again, maybe not."

Sure enough, an energy blast burst from the ship, sending half the clearing and the woods around up in flames.

"Go!" Jack shouted to the two hostages. "Run!"

"You know they can probably scan for us," Daniel panted as they moved as quickly as they could through the thick woods. "We can't outrun a Tel'tak!"

"If you have any other suggestions…" The trees right behind them were blown up with another salvo. "Now's the time to make them!"

And then the ship was right above them, hovering ominously in the dark night sky, the flames from the burning trees reflecting off its copper hull, and they could see the weapons ready to fire again and knew there was nowhere left to run…

…and suddenly a barrage of gunfire ricocheted off the Tel'tak, and several fighter planes converged on the larger ship from all sides, sending it off its axis, drawing its fire, giving the people down on the ground time to move again.

"Yes! I love it when that happens! Come on," Jack led the rest of them away from the fight, through the trees, until they were far enough that no stray shots could hit them. From there they watched the Tel'tak finally retreat, the F-302s in hot pursuit, until they all vanished out of sight. "You gotta love the cavalry," Jack grinned.

"Who do you think sent them?"

"I don't know, d'ya actually text Landry?"

* * *

Together with the two hostages, Jack and Daniel made their way to the side of the forest road, just in time to see two sets of headlights wind around the nearest corner. A few moments later two black cars pulled up to them, and several people in black mission gear got out, among them…

"Teal'c, buddy!" Jack caught the Jaffa's hand in a firm grasp. "You still haven't lost your great timing."

"Nor you, O'Neill,your ability to encounter danger in unexpected places."

"Nah, that's all Daniel's fault."

The Jaffa narrowed his eyes doubtfully. "Indeed…"

"And Carter," Jack greeted with another smile, "always good to see you."

Sam's tight-lipped smile hinted that she may not share his opinion, but she nodded a greeting and saluted anyway. "Sir."

"Glad to see you're okay, general," the commander of the Homeworld task force walked over and saluted Jack.

"Davis! Didn't I just sign your vacation slip?"

"One week today, Sir." Major Paul Davis grinned. "Made it longer than I thought, actually." He looked past Jack's shoulder toward the clearing and its surrounding woods, still crackling and smoldering after bearing the ship's fire. "Never a boring day at the office, right, General?"

"You know how I hate boring," Jack agreed. "Did we get that ship?"

"Pilots report that it engaged its cloak and escaped before the F302s could force it down," Carter informed him. "We lost it."

"It might not get very far," Daniel offered. "Those fighters probably did a lot of damage."

"And it's definitely not coming back. By the way – Carter, we need to talk about fixing that sensor network."

"Yes, Sir." Her tone was still a few notes below her usual cheerful pitch, and a little slower and more sedate. Jack cleared his throat.

"Okay…good! In that case, let's get back to that clearing, I've got a feeling our friends left behind plenty of clues. Oh and," he looked around, spotting the two former hostages who were now being attended by the HS task force medic. "Someone get their story. They had a first class one-way ticket outta here on that ship, and I wanna know why."

As they made their way back to the clearing, Jack leaned toward Daniel's ear.

"Daniel, you remember our deal of not mentioning anything to Carter about Cassie, right?"

Daniel grinned. "That depends."

Jack gave him a warning glare. "Daniel."

"When's the next ship leaving for Atlantis, again?"

"_Daniel_." Since the archaeologist looked utterly unrepentant, he finally rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. I'll talk to Hank. And just so you know, that's blackmail."

* * *

"…and the dead man in the clearing was identified as Terrence Evans." General Landry clicked the projector remote, and a picture of the man came up on the screen. "As you may remember, he was the CEO of a large pharmaceutical company that illegally funded the Trust. And he had been believed dead for the past two years."

"At least now we know for sure," Daniel piped in from across the conference room table.

"Yes, but that also raises the question of who else might still be out there that we _don't_ know of." Landry sounded displeased. "Ba'al may have tried to reform the Trust during his stay on Earth last year, or it might be someone else entirely. And unfortunately our best source of intel was shot by his own men."

"Yeah, bad guys don't have the best retirement plans," the archaeologist commented.

"Well, if Evans was acting as the delivery boy in the middle of the night, he can't have been that high up in the food chain," Jack pointed out from seat next to Daniel's. "Someone else is pulling the strings here."

"What about the woman you saw?" asked Sam.

"We're looking into Daniel's ladyfriend Xiaoyi Shen," Jack replied, "but so far she's clean. She's even got an alibi for yesterday night. But I've been authorized to put her under surveillance twenty-four seven…so if she so much as _thinks_ about any shady business, we'll know about it."

"Hang on – and I know I missed out on all the action here, so maybe I'm missing something," Mitchell couldn't help sounding a little disappointed, "but why are we looking into the IOA rep with an alibi, when we already know a lady who's buddies with the Trust and likes to kidnap people?"

"Athena…" Sam nodded.

Daniel looked unsure. "But why would she speak fluent Mandarin Chinese?"

"Why wouldn't she?" Mitchell held up his hands. "Heck, we don't know what that Goa'uld can do… maybe she's been hiding away in China all these months that we haven't managed to find her."

"Perhaps she has taken a new host," suggested Teal'c.

In the seat next to him, Sam gave another small nod. "Just because we can't find Charlotte Mayfield doesn't mean she's still...alive," she hesitated for a moment, not sure if being the unwilling host to a Goa'uld could really qualify as 'alive'.

"We'll look into it. But even if it wasn't Athena we saw at the rendezvous site, that doesn't mean she's not into this up to her snakey elbows." Jack shook his head with disgust. "The Trust is like that damn hydra, the more we chop off its heads, the more it keeps popping up newer and uglier ones." He rolled his eyes at Daniel's expression. "Yes, Daniel, I pay attention to your little stories sometimes."

"Good to know," the archaeologist smirked.

"What about that…thing they left behind?" asked Mitchell.

"The woman called it 'the prototype'," Daniel remembered. "She told the Tel'tak pilot that his employers would know what to do with it. We found it in the clearing, he must've dropped it when Jack tackled him."

"Hope they don't ask for their money back," Mitchell joked.

"Actually, I don't think the Tel'tak pilots were buying it," Daniel pointed out. "It seemed more like they were...picking up a delivery. They even got paid for the job. Nice big suitcase...although we didn't see what was in it."

"Probably gold…gems…weapons," Landry shook his head. "A lot of things that have value on other planets can be used to buy the services of mercenaries."

"If we find out for sure what was in that suitcase, maybe we can track it," Daniel proposed a little uncertainly, "see who'd be interested in buying or using it..."

"That sounds right up Vala's alley," commented Mitchell.

Landry nodded his agreement. "You can talk to her about it when she returns from the Tok'ra. Now, this device that they left behind..." He clicked through the slideshow to a photo of the open silver briefcase, and the few mechanical pieces it contained. "Colonel Carter, have you been able to identify what it is?"

As if on cue, all eyes turned to Sam.

"As far as I can tell, it's of Ancient design," she replied. "I'm not as familiar with Ancient technology, but the schematics in the briefcase were very detailed. According to those, it's a smaller, more stable version of the phase-shifting technology we used to defend against the Ori attacks."

"Could it be a prototype that Merlin built before making Arthur's mantle?" asked Daniel.

"I don't think so. Merlin's device used lepton radiation to shift anyone near it out of phase. This prototype uses a molecular decomposition mechanism."

"Like the Asgard beam?"

"Sort of... but not exactly."

Sam looked uncharacteristically reluctant to launch into a technical explanation, but there was no getting away from it.

"Asgard technology mostly relies on the basic energy conversion principles of quantum physics. It has a more…" she struggled to find the word, "mechanistic, or naturalistic feel to it" She did not look satisfied with the explanation, but moved on. "A lot of Ancient technology _does_ work like that, like the stargate system for example. But we've also seen Ancient devices that seem to tap into a wholly different concept of energy, that exists independent of particle physics. An energy of the mind, so to speak, like…"

Again, she struggled for a word.

"The Force?" Jack suggested.

Sam put her face into her palms for one moment, before admitting. "Pretty much. That's about as far as my understanding of it goes right now."

"It's not surprising that the Ancients could manipulate energy on a different level, that was probably how they discovered ascension in the first place," Daniel pointed out.

"But it's hard for us to understand," replied Sam, "let alone quantify or use this kind of energy."

"And this prototype uses the...Force?" Jack arched his eyebrows. "To...decompose our...molecules?"

"I'm not sure," Carter admitted. "For the most part, the schematics are straightforward, but there are a few components that feel...off. It almost feels like there should be more, like half the instructions are missing..." She shook her head, and flipped through her copy of the debriefing file. "But at first glance, it's just a small-scale phase-shifting device."

Jack was the only one who picked up on the slight hesitation in her tone. "_And_...at second glance?"

Her eyes flickered to him briefly.

"Colonel?" This time, Landry, too, noticed her wavering.

"I can't put my finger on it," Sam finally said, "but for some reason these schematics have a familiar...feel. Maybe it's the details of the molecular decomposition mechanism, or maybe it's just a general familiarity with any Ancient device... but they remind me of something."

"Something...?" Jack prompted.

Sam exhaled slowly. "The Dakara superweapon."

* * *

Everyone around the table reacted with the same mixture of surprise and horror.

"Are you saying, Colonel, that this prototype could be developed into another superweapon?" Landry sounded furious, which in turn caused Sam's denial to be a little more emphatic than she had meant it.

"_No_! I mean, this is definitely just a phase-shifting device," she recovered, "and only for small-scale use, too. There's nothing about it that would make it into a weapon. But…" Again she was at a loss for words. "I'm sorry, Sir, I don't know how to explain it better. I've only had one day to study the schematics, maybe with a little more time I'll pinpoint exactly why I get this familiar feeling about it."

Landry's frown persisted, though it was not directed at her. "Thank you, Colonel." Then he exchanged a concerned glance with Jack.

"Well, that makes things interesting," the other general deadpanned.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "If you can call someone trying to build another unstoppable superweapon 'interesting'…"

"Okay, let me say again that there's absolutely no evidence for that," Sam reiterated. "This prototype could not, in any way, be converted into a Dakara-like superweapon."

"You did say it was missing half the instructions…"

"No, I said it _felt _like it was missing half the instructions," she corrected Mitchell. "The schematics are complete for the device. It just … feels..." she was really beginning to hate that word "…that there could be more. But there isn't. There is nothing more to this prototype than what is written in those schematics."

"Does O'Neill not believe that the mercenaries in the Tel'tak had travelled to Earth several times already?" Teal'c looked thoughtful. "Is it not possible that a different prototype, or additional design instructions, were picked up on previous transports?"

"Uhm…yes, I guess that _is_ possible."

"So, someone _could_ be out there building a superweapon," Daniel concluded, and was a little taken aback by the irritated glare that Sam sent him.

"Someone could always be out there building a superweapon," she countered. "I don't think anything we've seen here necessarily points to that conclusion. I'm sorry, Sir," she looked to Landry, "I didn't mean to imply that we have to worry about that."

"Forewarned is forearmed, Colonel," Landry replied. "I'd prefer to worry unnecessarily rather than be surprised when someone shows up in my backyard with a superweapon."

She sighed and gave up. "Yes, Sir."

"Uh…not to harp on this point too much," Daniel said slowly, giving Sam a cautious look lest she became more annoyed at him, "but didn't the two hostages we rescued turn out to be genius scientists, too?"

"You are indeed correct, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c nodded, catching the drift. "Dr. Thompson is a nuclear physicist who was part of the original technical crew of the _Prometheus_."

"The kind of guy I'd snatch if I wanted to build a superweapon," Jack commented.

"Indeed."

This time, Daniel played devil's advocate. "But Dr. Anders is a biomedical engineer who has nothing to do with the stargate program and never worked on any high-clearance project. He's researching some sort of support interface for stroke victims at Johns Hopkins. Why take him?"

"I don't know, Daniel,"Jack arched his eyebrows. "Maybe one of the evil masterminds of this conspiracy had a stroke."

Daniel rolled his eyes. A brief silence followed, while everyone tried to process what they had just discussed. Finally, Landry spoke again.

"Alright, so we don't have a clear picture yet. We don't know if the Trust has been reformed, or who is leading the operation on Earth, and we don't know what their exact plans are. But one of the players is out of the equation, and we have a lead on at least one other, as well as a possible lead to their off-world partners. And whoever these partners are, they did not get their prototype or their hostages. And we've stopped the illicit transports to and from Earth – " he looked to Carter, who nodded.

"I set up a three-tier configuration for the satellite network, with separate functional loops and back-up sensors. Even if some of the sensors go out, there will essentially be two layers of back-up. We also have a rudimentary cloak-detection setup in place, although we'll have to transition to something more permanent once I learn how to safely integrate the Asgard technology with our own."

"Good. Given that two days ago we had no knowledge of any of this happening, I'd say quite a lot has been accomplished." There were nods of agreement around the table. "Most of all, we are forewarned," Landry continued, "which means that we can work to get to the end of this, and if necessary, get ready to defend against a potential new threat."

"The President has authorized General O'Neill to make this case a priority for Homeworld Security," he informed them. "We can't spend as many resources on it here at the SGC, but keep your eyes open. I have a briefing with all the SG team leaders later today, where I'll be telling them the same thing. Pay attention, look for details, make connections. Whoever's behind this here on Earth, isn't working alone, and chances are, you may be meeting some of their associates, or someone who knows their associates, in your off-world missions." There were nods from all around the table. "Someone out there in this galaxy knows exactly what Mister Evans and his as of yet unknown partners are up to, and someone's going to be willing to let something slip. So keep your eyes and ears open," he repeated. "Dismissed."

The End

* * *

_Epilogue_:

The team left the briefing room after being dismissed, while Landry and Jack stayed behind to finish up some details. Mitchell barely waited until they were out of earshot of the two generals, before launching into an animated recap of everything they had just discussed.

"…and wow, did I miss a lot. Seriously Jackson, I was only out for a few days, and you join O'Neill to take down some alien smuggling op right near DC, and uncover a potential plan to build a superweapon?" Mitchell shook his head. "You couldn't wait another week?"

"As the Tau'ri say, Colonel Mitchell… A subsequent occasion inevitably follows."

The colonel paused for a second, then his face lit up with understanding. "There's always next time, yes, thank you Teal'c."

"Well, _you_ can go with Jack next time," Daniel offered "_I_ am hopefully not going to be here by then."

"You finally takin' a break, Jackson? Off to some tropical island? Or…library?" he amended.

"A little of both, actually," Daniel grinned, undeterred by the tease. "Jack's going to convince Landry to let me go to Atlantis."

That caused Mitchell's jovial tone to disappear. "You – what now? Wait a second, how long are you – when did you...why wasn't –"

Sam put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it," she advised.

That wiped the grin off Daniel's face.

"Don't worry about –"

But Sam was already walking away, toward the two generals who were just leaving the conference room. "Sir," she smiled at O'Neill, "could I talk to you for a minute?"

Daniel stared after her in confusion. "'Don't worry about it?' What does she mean, don't worry about it?" He looked at Mitchell, who shrugged. Teal'c bore his usual inscrutable expression, but Daniel knew how to read it by now. "You know what she means, don't you? What do you know? Why did she say that? Wh…"

He exhaled slowly.

"…she knows, doesn't she?"

Teal'c's eyebrows rose a millimetre.

"She knows about Cassie."

The Jaffa maintained a serene silence.

"Who's Cassie?"

But Daniel was still watching Teal'c intently. "Sam knows about Cassie, doesn't she?"

Slowly, the Jaffa inclined his head. Daniel's shoulders slumped.

"I'm not going to Atlantis, am I?"

* * *

**This is it! The end of the first virtual episode! This is still very much a learning experience for me, so there will be small changes here and there in format, style etc. as we go on (hopefully changes for the better!). Thank you for reading this story and to everyone who sent their feedback, it was greatly appreciated! And thank you, Myosotis and SC, for your constant support and awesomeness and for being the best partners in crime! **

**Next episode up: 'Legacy', to be posted in a few days. You can find the synopsis in the episode guide posted on my author page. **

**As always, we love to hear from you!**

**Also - for any of you still reading these author notes. Does anyone know who the VP was to President Hayes by the end of the show? The last VP I know of was Kinsey, and he's *definitely* out of that job. We might need the VP to make an appearance in the future, so we're trying to figure out if it was ever expressly stated who followed Kinsey... **


	5. Legacy (1), pt 1

**Thanks so much to everyone who's reading this, and to all of you who review. And - I know replying to reviews in author's notes is a no-no, but I don't know how else to answer questions asked in guest reviews, so - to our guest reviewer, the answer to your question is: yes, a little ;-). **

**Slight change in story structure: initially we planned to have each 'episode' be split into three chapters, and State of Affairs just ended up in four because it was too long. But turns out, we like the four-part format, so we're going to go with that for now! **

**We're currently having a small debate deciding what to do about the overall story title/summary/characters etc. Right now the title has stayed the same, but the summary changed to the "Legacy" synopsis. I also changed the main characters from Daniel/Jack (which was a great fit for "State of Affairs", but not at all for this new virtual episode) to "Any", since this is very much a team-focused plot. Any suggestions on how to handle these formatting issues would be welcome...!**

_**Legacy (1), part 1**_

The yellow warning lights that accompanied _scheduled_ offworld activations reflected warmly off the corridor walls, nowhere near as glaring or unsettling as their red, unscheduled-activation counterparts. The lack of the deafening alert klaxon was a welcome change, too.

Although, if the rumours were true, Colonel Cameron Mitchell suspected that it might not be unwise to sound the alarms and warn everyone to hide.

He ran into General Landry on the corridor that led to the gate room, and nodded a greeting.

"Didn't think you'd be here, Sir," he admitted as they fell into step with each other.

"Given the circumstances," Landry arched his eyebrows meaningfully, "I thought I'd make sure there's no permanent damage done."

"I'm sure Vala will appreciate it…"

Stopping in front of the sliding door that led to the gate room, Landry turned and gave him a wry look. "I meant, to the Tok'ra, Colonel."

Mitchell pressed his lips together, watching the general enter the gate room. "Right," he muttered, and followed the older man in.

* * *

The first time Mitchell had seen Vala come through the stargate (which was also the first time he had seen her, period), she had used two beleaguered airmen to carry her considerable luggage. This time, she carried her small bag herself, but she look ten times as fraught as those two airmen had.

She stomped down the ramp and would have marched right out of the gate room without so much as a look up at them, had Cam not subtly repositioned himself right in her path. Her way thus blocked, she finally raised her eyes just enough to give him a cagey look.

"What?"

"Nice to see you, too." Mitchell gave a discreet sideways nod, and her gaze shifted to the General, who was watching her with a stony expression.

"What?" Vala repeated with a frustrated breath, and she let her bag slide off her shoulder onto the floor. "Whatever they told you, they're lying."

She cringed defensively, as though expecting him to start making accusations. Landry, however, stayed silent, with the same impenetrable expression, and that seemed to put her even more on edge.

"I didn't do anything! And I really, honestly _tried_, and you know what, it didn't do any damn good because those two-faced, cold-blooded bigots are never going to see past their own narrow-minded –" She caught herself and pressed her lips together, sniffing as she straightened her shoulders. "I don't care what they said, it's not true. And if you don't believe me, well…I don't care," she repeated defiantly, even though her apprehensive look belied her words. Mitchell was reminded of another speech she had made, standing in the same room. All she was missing was a soapbox.

Cam cast the general a cautious sideways glance. Landry maintained his rigid stance for a moment longer, staring Vala down with a hard look. Then his body finally relaxed as he rumbled a deep, irritated sigh.

"Take the day off," he ordered.

She automatically opened her mouth to protest, then frowned. "What?"

"Take. The day. Off," the general repeated. "Get some rest – get some _sleep_," he said emphatically, "take a few days even, as long as you need – and _then_," he arched his eyebrows and gave her another meaningful look, "come see me."

Vala simply stared in surprise, so Landry took a step closer, until their faces were inches apart.

"That _was_ an order," he rumbled.

She did not need any further encouragement to pick up her bag and quickly make her way out of the gate room. When the echo of her footsteps faded, Landry turned to look at Mitchell. The colonel quickly nodded.

"I'll…take care of it, Sir."

The SGC commander shook his head and sighed again.

"General Landry." Walter's voice came through the speakers, and both men looked up to the control room. The chief master sergeant was holding up a phone. "Call for you, Sir. It's Colonel Carter."

* * *

Mitchell stared at the real-sized holographic image standing a few feet away from the conference room table.

"Nice to see you're putting the Asgard technology to good use."

"I'm _trying_," the woman replied, turning a little to face him better. "Unfortunately I didn't have the time to set up a proper emitter at the SGC, so it's a little hard to see _you_…tell me if I end up facing any walls, okay?"

"Only if you let me take the _Odyssey_ for a spin 'round the block…or solar system…"

Sam laughed. "Careful what you wish for." Her hologram flickered off for a second, then reappeared.

"So, what's this about? Everything okay up there?"

"Let's wait until everyone's here," the woman suggested. "Daniel and Teal'c are both on base, right? And I heard Vala was back…?"

Mitchell pinched the bridge of his nose. "That she is."

Sam's holographic image managed a very real sympathetic grimace. "That bad, huh?"

"Let's just say, she ain't winning any Miss Congeniality awards, and the Tok'ra aren't getting a 'thank you' note."

"Anything I can do?"

"About what?" Vala slipped into the room, and took the chair to Mitchell's left. "Hi, Sam."

"Aren't you supposed to be taking the day off?" The team leader sighed when she completely ignored his question. "Never mind."

"Welcome back," the blonde smiled.

Vala put her elbows on the table and leaned her chin in her cupper palms. "It's good to be back. At least until the General fires me for whatever imagined offense your good buddies the Tok'ra concocted…"

Mitchell rolled his eyes. "No one's firing you, but maybe dial it down a bit, okay? They _are_ some of Earth's oldest allies."

"You're only allied with them because you don't know half the things they're up to," Vala retorted, but she seemed too tired to continue arguing, so instead she rubbed her cheeks and leaned back into the chair.

"Let me know if there's anything I can do," Sam offered again.

Before the other woman could reply, the door to the conference room opened once more, and the two remaining members of SG1 walked in.

"Hey Sam. Sorry for being late, I was…," Daniel spotted the raven-haired woman curled up in the seat next to Mitchell's, "looking for Vala…" he trailed off. "You weren't in your quarters," he informed her unnecessarily.

"Did you look _every_where?" she said in a low voice, then grinned as he rolled his eyes.

"_And_…welcome back." He took the chair next to her nonetheless, while Teal'c sat across from them.

General Landry arrived a few moments later.

"I just got off the phone with the President," he started without preamble. "I'm afraid it doesn't look promising, Colonel. But fill everyone in, first, and then we can think of…alternative solutions."

* * *

"The alarms went off a couple of hours ago." Sam's holographic projection flickered briefly, then stabilized again. "At first we thought we'd accidentally crashed one of the internal systems – it's happened a few times as we're exploring the new upgrades – but the signal that caused the alert didn't originate from the ship's interface. It was uploaded _into_ the _Odyssey'_s alert systems by a backup subroutine in one of the Asgard databases."

"Hang on…a _database_ set off the sirens on the ship?" Mitchell frowned. "How'd that even happen?"

"There's still a lot about the structure of the Asgard databases that we don't understand," replied Sam, "but they're built as a vast series of state spaces, which update in real time based on many different sources of input. For instance, if I were to introduce some info on, say, a new planet we discovered, the databases would automatically integrate that info into the already existing knowledge space, and update all the entries and connections to reflect the new information. It's a fluid, dynamic process, that's designed to bridge gaps, make logical connections and basically maintain an updated representation of…well… "

"Everything?" the other colonel offered.

Sam laughed. "Well, no," she admitted, "but…_a lot_. Among other things, an accurate and mostly up-to-date schematic of our galaxy, its planets and people, interconnected systems, a political and geographical diagram and so on."

"That's amazing." Daniel's eyes were wide with enthusiasm. "I mean, I peeked into these databases on our trip back on the _Odyssey_, but I get the feeling I didn't even scratch the surface. Can you imagine how much we could learn about other cultures, about worlds we didn't even know of, and how they connect to us, how they evolved, how the map of this galaxy came to be the way it is today…"

"Okay, so the _Odyssey_ has awesome toys for _both_ of you," Mitchell interrupted. "I still don't get how a library, _however vast and impressive_," he acknowledged with a nod to the archaeologist, "set off the alarms on the ship."

"After I found that the signal originated in the databases, I was able to track it down to a particular information node, and looked at when and how that node was last updated. It turns out, the _Odyssey_ sensors recently detected a message," she told them, "and when the databases automatically processed it, it caused this information node to update. The backup subroutine that set off the sirens was just in place as a way to alert us that the node was updated, so we could track down the original message that the sensors received."

Teal'c leaned forward in his seat. "What was the content of the message, Colonel Carter?"

"There wasn't really a content. It was a very simple radio frequency transmissible over long distances, and it was easy to find a match in the databases."

"Overdue electric bill?" Cam guessed.

"Not exactly. The frequency corresponds to an emergency signal that the Asgard left some of the planets under their protection. A 'panic button' of sorts…with the instructions to activate it if they were ever in serious danger, so the Asgard could come and keep them safe."

"So one of the Asgard protectorates has activated this…'panic button'?" Teal'c frowned. "Does the message include the nature of their emergency?"

Sam shook her head, causing the hologram to flicker off and on again. "Unfortunately, no. There's no way to know…"

"…unless we go there," Mitchell finished for her. Then he turned to look at the general. "We can be in the gate room in an hour, Sir."

But Landry shook his head. "It's not that simple, Colonel."

"Uh, with all due respect, Sir," Daniel piped in, "it should be that simple. When Thor left us all their technology, it was with the understanding that we'd follow their legacy. The Asgard were the great protectors of this galaxy, and I don't see how we can honour the gift they gave us without respecting that."

"I'm with Jackson on this one," the SG1 leader nodded. "Can't take the Asgard goodie bag and ignore the strings attached."

"Indeed. If the Tau'ri have accepted the knowledge and technology of the Asgard, they must also accept the responsibility toward the planets in their protection."

"That's the whole reason they left _us_ their legacy," Daniel argued again, "because they _trusted_ us, trusted that we could continue to do good, we can't just ignore the first chance we get to live up to that –"

"That's enough." Landry held up a hand.

"But –"

"Dr. Jackson. You don't need to convince me." He gave the archaeologist a meaningful look beneath raised eyebrows. "I was there, remember?" He paused for a moment, and sighed. "I share your views on this matter completely."

"They why aren't we getting ready to go see why that planet is calling for help?" the younger man countered.

"The planet does not have a stargate," the general replied.

That gave everyone pause, save for Sam who, of course, already knew. She still looked troubled, however.

"That makes sense," Daniel finally said. "If the Asgard made a treaty with the Goa'uld to protect that planet, it may have required that their gate be buried."

"As the Goa'uld attempted to do with the Tau'ri gate," Teal'c continued. "Perhaps they also viewed the inhabitants of this planet as a potential threat in the future."

"If that's the case with a lot of their protectorates, it's gonna get a little tricky," Mitchell frowned.

"Excuse me, but weren't you _just_ saying how we now have the most impressive ship in the galaxy?" For the first time in the conversation, Vala leaned forward to make her opinion known. "I don't see what the problem is. I'm sure the Asgard databases include maps, and with the upgraded ship we can get to that planet, deal with whatever it is that's bothering those people, and get back before anyone gets a chance to miss us."

All eyes in the room turned to Landry.

The general wore a displeased frown. "_That's_ what I meant when I said it wasn't that simple."

* * *

"Why!" Daniel's entire demeanour exuded frustration. "I don't see why they won't just let us take the _Odyssey_, half the crew is already on board getting used to the systems, and even if they weren't, it's not like Sam and Mitchell haven't flown ships before!"

"The President doesn't like the idea of risking the Odyssey for such an…" Landry paused, trying to look for a diplomatic word, "…unfamiliar type of mission," he finally conceded.

"You mean an unimportant mission." Daniel was not appreciating the attempt at diplomacy. "He doesn't think it's worth flying the _Odyssey_ to help some small back-water planet, isn't that right?"

"If something happens to the ship, we lose our greatest advantage against whatever enemies may still be out there, Dr. Jackson."

"So what, we'll let that planet die to, I don't know, _play it safe_?"

"We don't know that they're dying."

"We don't know that they're not."

"Dr. Jackson – "

"No, I'm sorry, but it shouldn't even be the President's call, I mean, Thor _intended_ for the _Odyssey_ upgrades to be used to help other people in this galaxy!"

"Thor isn't here," the General pointed out, his voice growing irritated, "and he gave those upgrades to the people of Earth, and right now the ultimate authority in that matter –"

"Actually, he gave the ship to us," Daniel interrupted. "He didn't know the 'people of Earth', he knew _us_. And he trusted _us_, and _we_ should have a say in this."

Landry's lips thinned, and the look he gave Daniel lacked all the earlier understanding.

"I don't make the call on this, Dr. Jackson," he reminded the archaeologist.

"Well then, we should talk to someone who does." He turned to Sam. "Call –"

"Daniel." Vala had curled back in her chair, and her voice was soft, but she was loud enough to cover him. "I think what the General is saying," she said slowly, meaningfully, "is that the person who does make the call isn't going to give us the ship." She turned to face Landry. "I could steal it for you," she offered, and the earnestness in her voice was enough to penetrate the general's anger. His tightly wound shoulders slumped in an exasperated sigh.

"I don't think that's exactly the solution we're looking for."

"Is there any way we can make the President change his mind, Sir?" asked Sam.

"Find out more about that planet," he replied, "and prove that going there won't risk the _Odyssey_…or his chances for re-election. I'm going to make some calls and see if we can get another ship." With one last warning glare at Daniel, who had thankfully suppressed his indignation enough to stay quiet, the General left the room.

"Are you sure you don't want me to … borrow that ship for you, Sam?" Vala called from her seat.

"Probably not the best idea..."

"Because right now, I would find that highly therapeutic," the dark-haired woman continued, "and you did ask if there was anything you could do…"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Feedback, questions etc. are always welcome! **


	6. Legacy (1), pt 2

**Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing and following this story. And a huge thank you as usual to partners in crime Myosotis, SC and our new and super prompt beta, Tel nok shock!**

* * *

**_Legacy (1), pt. 2_ **

"I understand, Sir. No, that won't be a problem. Yes, I assure you that this can only have a positive impact. We all want the same thing, Mr. President. Yes, thank you Sir."

Landry waited to replace the red phone on its hook before he allowed himself an exasperated groan. However hard it had been to convince the President to authorize risky high-stake missions in the past, it was ten times as hard now that Hayes was aiming for re-election and playing it safer than ever.

"Walter!" he bellowed. During his first few months in command, the sergeant had dutifully reminded him that there was a button he could push to activate the intercom, but by now that ship had sailed.

"_Calling SG1 to the briefing room, General!_"

…and besides, if Harriman was allowed to be a mind-reading know-it-all, then Landry could damn well issue his orders by shouting them through the closed door.

"Show-off," he muttered while he scribbled his signature on the mission plan that the President had finally (and not without a litany of conditions and warnings) authorized. A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. "Yes, Walter."

The airman poked his head in. "Sir, were we expecting a list of um…"

"Demands?" Landry grabbed the mission plan as he got up from his chair. "The IOA doesn't agree with the President's final decision to give us the ship. Since they've been overruled, now they're making sure we don't get it for free."

Walter studied the paper in his hands with a wary look. "A delegate in supervisory capacity? Uh, didn't that backfire last time?" He read further down the list. "And didn't we just have an audit last year?"

The general took the sheet out of his hands. "Don't remind me."

"Yes, Sir. Oh and, General…" He stopped the older man just as he was about to leave the office. "Senator Fisher called again."

Landry's lips pressed together in an expression of displeasure. The senator was among the presidential advisors who had most vocally opposed sending the _Odyssey_ on this mission. And when the President had decided to allow the mission to proceed anyway, Landry had suspected that Fisher's grudge against the SGC would only get worse.

Admittedly, the man had some reason to feel a little...resentment. But to go on a power trip and make unreasonable demands was another thing entirely. And the General would be damned if he allowed Senator Fisher to settle his bruised ego by persecuting SGC personnel. However much said personnel deserved it…

"I told him you'd call him back, Sir…as usual." If Walter was curious about the issue, he hid it well.

"Good. Then I suppose it'll just have to slip my mind again…"

Landry knew the game couldn't go on forever, but he could at least stall until he figured out a way to foil the man's obvious cheap quest for vengeance. And yanking the Senator's chain for a while longer was just…an added bonus.

He allowed himself a self-satisfied grin as he walked out the door and headed to the conference room.

"General!"

Landry sighed as the SGC's zanier resident alien bounced up in his path.

"I thought I told you to take the day off."

Vala fell into stride beside him, seemingly undaunted by grumpy reception. "Yes, but as you can see I'm perfectly readjusted and fit for duty, so –"

"Did you get the green light from the infirmary?"

She cleared her throat. "Uh, no, but –"

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"Well, it's just that I think I can get that little routine check-up _after_ we come back from the mission. And I know what you're going to say," she spoke fast and waved her hands emphatically, "but if you just listen to me for a second, I can assure you that I'm perfectly capable of –"

"Go get your 'routine check-up' done now."

"But you called a meeting now…"

"Guess you'll just have to miss it." He held up a finger to stop her next protest, and stopped walking so he could turn and face her. "The others can fill you in. If you want to be on that ship with the rest of your team, go get Dr. Lam to declare you fit for duty. And –" He gave her a narrow-eyed warning glare, "if you try to get out of it or cut any corners, you'll be my age by the time you get to go on another mission."

For the second time that day, Vala was momentarily speechless. Then she snapped her mouth shut, grinned, executed a perfectly terrible salute, and took off for the infirmary.

Landry shook his head. At least his daughter would know how to handle her. And Carolyn would not sign off on it if the alien woman wasn't one hundred percent fit for duty. And then… well, at least Ms. Mal Doran was less likely to cause any disasters in the company of the rest of her team. Something that could, in fact, be said of all of SG1. At least they could keep each other out of trouble, if very little else could do the job…

* * *

"Gotta love the pick-up service. Davidson. Good to see you." Mitchell greeted the man in the command seat having just materialized on the bridge of the _Odyssey_.

Colonel Ian Davidson greeted all of them, in return. "Hope this trip will be a little smoother than the last time," he joked.

"Yeah, it'll probably help that there are no Ori ships trying to blow us up this time," Mitchell replied.

"With our shiny new toys, I'd say bring them on. Even though we're a little short on crew, as you can see." The commander indicated the rest of the bridge, where only a few of the available posts were manned. "We won't get a permanent crew assigned until the science teams finish the inventory of the Asgard upgrades, and that could take another couple of months."

"Sorry if this little surprise trip holds up your schedule."

"Are you kidding?" Davison's eyes widened. "I couldn't get up there fast enough when they called me this morning. If it were up to me, we'd be flying this baby all over the galaxy. We could pay visits to every Asgard protectorate out there for all I care."

"Too bad the President doesn't agree," muttered Daniel, which earned him a curious look from the commander.

"I heard there was some bureaucratic ruckus," the man admitted, "but not the details. The big boss didn't want the ship out of the garage yet?"

"To put it mildly," Sam agreed.

"You'd think we were asking for a favour, not just trying to do exactly what the Asgard _meant_ for us to do with their technology." Daniel's bitter tone made it clear he was still upset over the unexpected opposition to using the _Odyssey_ to maintain the Asgard legacy.

"Speaking of bureaucratic ruckus," Mitchell looked around the bridge, "weren't we supposed to have a chaperone?"

"Picked you and your team up first," Davidson grinned. "I figured you wouldn't mind."

"Heck, I wouldn't mind if you didn't pick the other guy up at all."

"Sorry, can't leave without a full head count," the commander chuckled. "Are we ready to get our last passenger, Major?"

In the pilot's chair, Major Kevin Marks adjusted his earbuds and checked the computer screen. "He's standing by, Sir."

"Beam him aboard, Major."

A moment later, a man in a crisp black suit materialized on the bridge. He took a quick look around to get his bearings, before he nodded to the _Odyssey_ commander. "Colonel Davidson."

"Mr. Johnson. I'd like you to meet SG1's Colonel Mitchell, Colonel Carter…"

"Dr. Jackson, Teal'c, and Vala Mal Doran," the man finished with a smile. "Yes, I know SG-1 very well by reputation, if not in person." He walked up to Mitchell and held out his hand. "Marcus Johnson, U.S. representative on the IOA…"

Cam gave him a chilly once-over. "Last IOA rep we had on board this ship brought a replicator. Do we need to search your luggage?"

Mr. Johnson coughed uncomfortably, and let his extended hand drop to his side. "Of course, you're referring to Mr. Merrick…that was a ah…unfortunate misunderstanding…handled sub-optimally by all parties involved."

"Actually, _our_ party managed to stop Merrick from launching another full-blown replicator invasion," Sam calmly pointed out. "I'd say that was pretty optimal."

The IOA representative cleared his throat. "Yes, well, that has no bearing on our current circumstances." He ignored the dubious looks he was receiving. "As you well know, the President has asked me to accompany you on this mission in a supervisory capacity, to ensure that you abide by all the agreed-upon conditions."

Davidson leaned forward in the commander's seat. "Conditions?"

Carter sighed. "Let's just say, we had to promise to bring the _Odyssey_ back without a scratch … or else."

There was a short silence in the wake of her explanation, then…

"Well, it's your lucky day, 'cause I don't plan to put any scratches on her, either. Major, how long before we're ready to enter hyperspace?"

"Passing Saturn now, Sir," Marks replied. "Twelve minutes before we clear the solar system."

Davison checked some readings on the screen next to his chair, then looked up to Sam again. "Want to double check the planet's coordinates before we enter hyperspace?"

At his invitation, she walked up to one of the unmanned consoles, and leaned over the computer screen. After entering a few commands, she nodded. "Everything looks good."

"You heard the Colonel, Major. We're all set. When we clear the solar system, take us to hyperspace."

Marks gave a nod of his own. "Yes, Sir."

"Well, you better make yourselves comfortable," Colonel Davidson addressed his passengers. "It's a good twenty hours before we get there. I heard the Asgard upgrades did wonders for the coffee machines in the cafeteria…"

Mitchell took the empty seat next to the commander's chair, while the rest of them slowly left the bridge. As the IOA rep was about to head out the door, the _Odyssey_ commander called out to him.

"Mr. Johnson."

When the man turned his head, Davidson fixed his small backpack with a pointed look.

"I don't _need_ to have your luggage checked, do I?"

Johnson's ears reddened slightly. "_No_, Colonel, I assure you there's no need for that."

"Good." Davidson leaned back in his chair. "In that case, enjoy the ride."

* * *

Vala woke up with a start, and for one frightening moment could not remember where she was. The hum of the engines told her she was on a ship, and a tingling in her neck said she was being watched. She tried to turn around and lashed out instinctively, only to end up in a heap on the floor as the chair she had been sitting on toppled.

"You okay?"

By the time she looked up, she was perfectly capable of recognizing the familiar voice, as well as the familiar edge of amused irony that went with it.

She gave Daniel a haughty look from behind the strands of hair that had shifted over her eyes. "Your Tau'ri accommodations are sadly deficient."

"Probably because the chairs in the database chamber weren't made for sleeping in," he noted without looking up from the holographic document he was studying.

Vala pushed her hair back. "I couldn't agree more." She got back up to her feet, and sidled over to the work station. "You know, we'd be much more comfortable in a bed."

"There are about a hundred unoccupied beds on this ship, if I'm not mistaken, and _you_ are free to have any of them."

"Unoccupied is no fun." She tested the console by pushing on it with one hand, before perching herself up on the edge of it. "We still have um…" she made a show of leaning back slowly so she could see the time read on the console, "…ten hours before we make it to our destination, and I can think of a fun way to spend _at least_ five of them…" she gave him a suggestive once-over, and grinned, "… probably even six."

Daniel rolled his eyes and took a pointed step out of her reach, his gaze still fixed on the Asgard document. "I thought we were over this."

"Hmm, I hear there's one best way to get over…this," she smiled as she let the word linger, "and we have most certainly _not_ tried it."

The man paused for a moment, grimaced at her implication, then returned to his reading.

Vala sighed and tapped her fingers against the light-blue protective screen she was sitting on. Then she craned her neck to examine the large floor-to-ceiling interactive screens that covered most of the walls of the room that the Asgard had converted to a library of sorts. That did not seem to satisfy her either, so she finally hopped down, turned around a few times, and finally walked over to Daniel, putting her palms down on the console he was reading on.

His eyebrows arched in a mixture of irritation and resignation. "Do you mind?"

She bit her lips and looked at him expectantly. Her fingers were unconsciously tapping the sides of the console.

Daniel sighed. "Look, I get that you're bored, but there is several millennia's worth of knowledge in this library, and this trip is one of my few chances to study it, so if you don't mind…"

Vala's shoulders slumped in obvious disappointment, and she crossed her arms and gave him an offended look. "I don't understand, Daniel, how you prefer to read about people who lived _thousands_ of years ago _halfway_ across the galaxy, instead of enjoying the many more appealing attributes of a living, breathing _non-fossilized_ human being!"

"Well for one, the fossilized people don't talk…"

"I _could_ think of things to do that don't involve talking…"

"But more importantly, and would you _stop_ it," he glared in irritation at her suggestive eyebrow wiggle, "more importantly, this library contains everything the Asgard ever knew, and we need to _understand_ it if we're ever going to follow in their footsteps and use their technology to help –"

The door to the database chamber slid open to reveal Mitchell.

"Good, you're both here. Jackson –we could use your help with…" The colonel trailed off as he took in their tense body language, and he spared each of them a cautious glance. "Do I even want to know?"

Vala gave Daniel a deceptively serene smile and walked over to the door. "While you enjoy your reading, Daniel…see if you can find more details on how the Asgard went _extinct_ because they stopped reproducing the good old-fashioned way," she commented over her shoulder, before slipping out of the room.

After a few seconds, Mitchell turned to give the archaeologist a carefully neutral look. "So…business as usual, then?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Cam glanced back toward the door that Vala had disappeared through. "Does she seem a little more…" It was hard finding the right word, so he just made a vague hand-wave somewhere in the vicinity of his head. "…than usual, to you?"

The dubious look that the other man returned was answer enough.

"Right."

He pondered the issue for another moment, then dropped it. "Anyway…Sam could use your help for a few minutes in the engine room."

That seemed to puzzle Daniel. "Are you sure she wants _my_ help? I don't think there's a lot I can do to the engines… and didn't part of the technical crew come along on this mission?"

"Yeah, they're all in there…Sam said they're having some problem with … Holo…Thor."

Daniel's eyebrows lifted in amusement.

"Apparently they tripped a language setting and can't switch it back. I don't know, Jackson, just go find out what it is and see if you can help. Oh and, try to avoid the IOA guy," he added as an afterthought, "he's been trying to corner us and ask questions, and I don't feel like making it easy for him."

* * *

"So…this must feel weird for you, huh, Teal'c?"

After getting a cup of coffee from the espresso machine, Marcus Johnson had sat down opposite the Jaffa at one of the tables in the cafeteria, and was trying to draw him into conversation. So far, his efforts had gone largely unrewarded.

"I mean, you say you've spent what, fifty years on this ship, and then went back in time and it's like it never happened? You have to admit, that's a pretty out-there tale…"

Teal'c tilted his head ever so slightly.

"Not that I don't believe you, of course," Johnson clarified, taking a sip from the plastic cup, "after all we have … evidence…" He waved toward the small streak of white in the Jaffa's hair, "…so it's pretty clear that it happened the way you say it did…but as far as anyone _else_ is concerned, it actually _didn't_ happen… Don't time paradoxes just give you a headache?"

Teal'c fixed him with an unemotional stare. "No."

When it became obvious that he would not add more, the IOA rep sighed. "Right. So…did anything…interesting…happen in those fifty years?"

The Jaffa arched an eyebrow.

"Right…you can't tell. Although, that future's already not going to happen anyway," Johnson pointed out, "so if you could use the fifty years of knowledge that you gained about the Asgard technology to make everyone's lives easier…" He gave the alien a meaningful look. "President Hayes and the IOA haven't picked the final senior crew yet for the _Odyssey_, and you _are_ the person who has spent the most time on the ship…your experience makes you the most qualified individual in this entire galaxy! And if you were willing to share what you've learned about the Asgard technology in those fifty years, they might even be willing to place you in command…"

He trailed off to allow Teal'c to process his words…but the Jaffa's only response was still the same indecipherable expression.

Finally, Johnson gave up with another sigh. "At least think about it," he said, before taking one last long sip from his cup. "Colonel Davidson was right, this is great coffee," he smiled, then got up from the table and walked out of the cafeteria.

* * *

The briefing room on board the _Odyssey_ was far smaller and more spartan than its SGC counterpart, but the metallic walls that echoed with the faint hum of the hyperspace engines felt oddly cosy. SG1 sat in loose formation around a small round table that contained an Asgard holographic projector. Sam had pulled up a 3-D image of the planet and was briefing the rest of the team on what she knew about it.

"The Asgard database refers to the planet as Argon, and its inhabitants are known as Argonians. They became a protectorate about three hundred years ago, after a Goa'uld named Saros had nearly worked them to extinction over the course of a few centuries."

"Saros was one of Cronus's lieutenants," Teal'c remarked. "He was killed before my fathered entered Cronus's service, but his cruelty and greed remained legendary."

Sam nodded. "Argon was one of the planets in his territory, and he used its people as cheap labour and entertainment. The Asgard tried to tell him that if he didn't treat the Argonians better, they would die out within a few generations."

"Let me guess – he didn't listen," Mitchell offered.

"Or didn't care," added Daniel.

"He refused to abide by any protection treaty and tried to attack Thor's ship," Sam confirmed, "and his fleet was eventually destroyed. Cronus arrived a little while later and tried to take over, but with the more advanced Asgard technology, Thor had the upper hand."

"Man, I wish I'd been around back then to see the Asgard take those snakes down a notch."

Daniel smiled at the colonel's enthusiasm. "Not gonna lie, it did feel pretty good whenever they showed up to save the day..."

"No wonder the Goa'uld hated them," Vala commented.

"Cronus did indeed hate the Asgard, and the conflict at Argon may have been the reason, as it was the first time he encountered them directly," Teal'c told them. "With the defeat of Saros and his forces, Cronus's losses were significant. My father told me that he always vowed to have his revenge on Thor."

Mitchell raised his eyebrows. "Guess the joke was on him."

"Indeed."

"So," Vala poked the holographic projection of the planet, which hovered above the metal tabletop, "did the database say what's causing trouble on that planet?"

Carter and Daniel exchanged a glance, as though to confirm what they had both read.

"No," the archaeologist replied, "the Asgard hadn't visited that sector of the galaxy for a few years, but from their latest intel, there wasn't really any immediate threat to the Argonians. Their society developed peacefully, and the last time that the Asgard checked, they'd reached a level of technology similar to Earth in the Late Middle Ages."

"Were they one of the planets that were attacked by Priors?" asked Mitchell.

This time, it was Sam who replied. "No, their system is somewhat out of the way, off the main traffic routes and nowhere near any major battle sites that we know of. They have no advanced technology or any rare natural resources…"

"Okay…then what's going on that made them hit that panic button?"

"My guess is, they're facing some sort of natural disaster," Sam suggested. "The Ori used a black hole when they tried to open the supergate the first time, and we used one a year later to dial out, plus the active supergate itself provided an enormous gravitational imbalance. Fortunately we didn't see any large-scale effects, but the interplanetary forces could have been rearranged enough to shift some planets off their axes by a small amount."

"Hang on…I thought you said Argon wasn't anywhere near any of that, how can it be suffering the side effects of the supergate?"

"It doesn't matter, the gravitational imbalance can propagate and compound…in fact I wouldn't be surprised if it's the smaller, more isolated planets around the edges of the galaxy that get the worst of it, since they have fewer opposing forces to compensate for the perturbation."

Everyone nodded in understanding, except for Vala, who bit her lips and gave the other woman a doubtful smile.

"That's a nice theory."

"You…don't agree?" Sam looked surprised.

"Oh, I think it's _plausible_ that the supergate is causing some sort of natural disaster on the planet…"

Mitchell gave her a curious glance. "What's _your_ guess for the betting pool, then?"

Vala leaned forward and placed both elbows on the table. "The Asgard homeworld was destroyed a few months ago," she explained. "The rumour _may_ have taken a little while to spread because of everything else that's been going on, but by now _everyone_ in this galaxy knows about it." She shrugged, as if the implication were obvious. "And there are a lot of enterprising businessmen out there who won't miss the opportunity to go loot some peaceful, clueless and as of late _defenceles_s planets."

"They're not defenceless," Daniel immediately argued.

"Maybe, but no one knows that but us. So I'm sticking to my bet," the dark-haired woman grinned. "What do I get when I win?"

The archaeologist rolled his eyes, but Mitchell looked thoughtful.

"I hate to say this, but she's got a point. Maybe we should tell Davison to raise the shields when we leave hyperspace."

Before anyone could reply, the _Odyssey_ commander's voice came through the intercom on the wall.

"_Colonel Carter – we're close to the planet's solar system. Getting ready to exit hyperspace, if you want to be here for it._"

"I guess we're about to find out who's right," Sam concluded, as she pushed the 'talk' button on the intercom. "We're on our way."

* * *

Argon was a small planet, compared to Earth, and from the image visible on the _Odyssey_ screens it seemed to consist of two large land masses, connected by a narrow strip and surrounded by oceans. The _Odyssey_ bridge crew, along with SG1 in full mission gear, spent a few moments trying to discern if there was any immediate danger, but no one could see anything out of the ordinary.

"Well, it looks peaceful enough from orbit," Mitchell admitted.

"And no sign of any pirate ships." Daniel gave Vala a pointed look.

"They probably landed," she retorted.

"Major," Cam walked over to Marks's work station, "can we see any ships on the surface?"

"Scanning now, Sir."

There was a short pause, during which Vala and Daniel exchanged challenging glares. "Nothing showing up on the sensors," Marks reported, "although they could be cloaked."

"No, they're probably just _not there_," the archaeologist assured him, but Vala would not back down so easily.

"Any signs of a natural disaster, then?"

"Uh…_not_ really sure how to scan for that…" Much like the last time that the alien woman had been leaning over his work station, Marks looked a little uncomfortable "…but…I don't think so…it's raining a lot in the southern hemisphere…?" he offered unsurely.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Come on," he pulled her away from the pilot's station. "We'll know for sure when we get down there."

Vala joined the rest of her team mates near the centre of the bridge, and smiled at the flustered major.

"Beam us down, Scooby!"

"It's Scotty. And it's up."

She put her hands on her hips. "There is no up, Daniel; we're already about as far up as it goes."

Behind the two of them, Mitchell shook his head, and silently motioned the _Odyssey_ commander that he could transport them to the surface. In turn, Davidson nodded at Marks.

"I don't think that's true."

"I think you're just worried that we'll get down to the surface and see that I was right."

"Reaaally not that worried about that–"

Their voices were cut off as the Asgard beam engaged and transported them down to the planet.

On the suddenly much quieter bridge, Davidson let out a long sigh. "Now I remember why SG1 had to do psych evals twice as often as the rest of us…"

* * *

**I know I'm taking some liberties with the timeline here, but as 'virtual season 11', this is happening presumably within a couple of months of the end of s10. So I am assuming AoT happened within weeks after "Unending", and the Ba'al extraction within weeks after that. (and all the terrible things that happened in the interim between "Unending" and "Continuum", such as the team breaking up and Sam leaving to take command of Atlantis etc., needless to say, have not occurred.) **

**Thank you for reading! As always, we love to hear from you so let us know what you think!**


	7. Legacy (1), pt 3

**Guys, I lied... turns out this episode is a two-parter! Episode guide and previous chapter titles have been updated accordingly. **

**Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing the story - hearing from all of you always makes our day. **

**Legacy(1), pt. 3**

"Looks like nobody's home…"

Mitchell walked down the dusty road, his weapon at the ready although he doubted there would be cause to use it. The place looked like an ordinary small village, with wooden one-story houses and rundown animal pens and even what looked like a cobbled together local tavern…ordinary in every way, except it was completely deserted.

Thirty yards or so down the road, Teal'c was just walking out of another house, whose door had been left open. "There is no indication of why the inhabitants of these houses have left, or where they have gone."

"Wherever they went to, they were in a hurry to get there." Vala appeared behind the Jaffa. "They left most of their possessions behind, including some very promising pieces of jewelry that must be worth something even on this backwater planet."

"Uh, do I have to remind you we're here to _help_ these people, not raid their homes?"

"I was just making a point, Daniel," she huffed. "I didn't _take_ anything…at least nothing they'd miss terribly," she finished in a lower tone of voice, then grinned at Teal'c when he gave her a suspicious look.

"Just checking…" Daniel was even further down the road, reading what looked like the village bulletin board near a small central square. "These messages look a few days old, and they all seem to convey some sort of warning, or instructions on how to protect themselves...this might be an evacuation order…"

"Protect themselves from what?" Sam walked up to him and studied the scribbles on the large wooden board. One of them in particular caught her attention, and she put her finger on it. "Isn't that…"

"The mark of Thor…yeah, we've seen this on Cimmeria as well and probably other protected planets..." He frowned as he examined the text around the familiar symbol. "I think this is an order for everyone to evacuate and head for the Hall of the Fallen…or it may be the Hall of the Slain, since that's the old translation for Valhalla. A place in old Norse mythology where warriors went when they died in battle," he explained for Teal'c and Vala.

"How exactly do you evacuate to a place where you're only supposed to go when you're dead?" Mitchell looked wary, but Daniel waved off his concern.

"Well, just because that's what the Earth mythology says, doesn't mean that it translates exactly to other worlds that the Asgard visited… I'm assuming in this case the Hall of the Fallen is an actual place…probably hidden or better protected than the village, which would explain why they'd want to retreat there if there was a threat."

"The Asgard database entry did mention a 'Great Hall' where the emergency beacon was placed," Sam recalled, "but unfortunately it didn't mention an exact location."

"If this place is similar to the Hall of Thor's Might on the planet Cimmeria, it will be hidden from sight as well as from a ship's sensors. It will be difficult for us to find it unassisted."

"Yeah, that's the bad news," Daniel agreed with Teal'c. "The good news is, whoever these people are running from probably didn't find it either. This means we can still help the Argonians if we can only figure out a way to get to them…"

"That emergency signal…it's not still transmitting by any chance, is it?" Mitchell did not look all that surprised when Sam shook her head. "Yeah, didn't think it _would_ be that easy. Alright people, we're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way. Split up, see if we can find out where this Hall is or what's going on with these people. And watch out for whatever it is that sent them running for the hills."

* * *

Two hours of wandering around the village and surrounding countryside revealed neither the Argonians' hiding place, nor any evidence of what danger threatened their society, and it was long enough to discourage even the usually gung-ho Colonel Mitchell.

"Maybe we should go back to the drawing board on this," he finally suggested after their search revealed nothing more than abandoned houses and stray domestic animals roaming the plains. "Head back to the first village, see if we missed something..."

"You mean, just give up?" Vala sounded surprised.

"We're not giving up," he clarified, "we're rethinking our strategy. This is getting us nowhere, and we don't have time to search the whole _planet _on foot." He sighed and reached for his radio. "Carter, Teal'c…anything on your end?"

"_Nothing in the woods to the south_," came Sam's voice. "_We did find two other abandoned villages, and there may have been signs of a fight, but not enough to tell us who was fighting or where they went._"

"That's more than we found," he replied. "Think you can get anything else out of it?"

"_Not sure. We'll look around a little longer... see if we can find any evidence of what happened_."

"Okay…rendezvous back at the starting point in two hours," Cam instructed. "Then we can go to plan B."

A crack and a shuffle in one of the thick bushes sent all three of them on guard. But the only thing that came out was a goat-like animal that looked completely unfazed at being greeted with three weapons. It bleated once, and then sprinted across the small nearby creek for the presumably greener grass on the other side.

Mitchell lowered his gun with a sigh. "Great. Where's Dr. Doolittle when you need him?" He ignored Vala's suspicious glance. "What could've scared these people enough to completely abandon their homes, let loose their animals and disappear without a trace?"

But nothing they had seen so far held any answers.

* * *

Sam put away her radio and met Teal'c's gaze. "Guess they're not having any better luck than we are." Her gaze shifted once more to the burn marks on the walls of the nearest house. "Let's take another look…"

This was the second village they had found, and it was deserted as well. However, the marks on the houses, as well as fragments of rudimentary weapons like spears and axes indicated that a fight may have happened there. Unfortunately, there was no sign of any combatants, nor any indication of what had happened afterwards.

"I believe these marks were made by some type of energy blast," Teal'c spoke as he touched the dark stains on a charred gate post. "The damage is not sufficient to indicate a staff discharge, but perhaps a smaller energy weapon..."

"That's a lot more advanced than what the Argonians could possess." Sam frowned, and took another cautious look at their surroundings. "Looks like Vala may have been right after all. Someone else attacked these people."

"This," Teal'c held up what looked like a broken spear shaft, "is evidence that the villagers may have attempted to fight back."

"That wouldn't do a lot of good against energy weapons, though. Maybe they realized they were outgunned and fled just like their neighbours."

"That is a likely theory."

Sam followed the road toward the far end of the village. "But where did they run _to_?"

The road ended in a small patch of woods right behind the last house. The top of a small hill was visible in the distance.

"It's a long shot, but some of them may have gone this way…maybe we can find a trail…."

The Jaffa nodded his agreement, and they stepped past the rudimentary fence of the last house, into the woods.

"Hello?" Sam had been calling out periodically in the hope that there may still be someone around to hear her, but no one had ever answered back, and this time was no different. "Okay, this is a little spooky," she admitted to Teal'c as they made their way through the suspiciously quiet woods. "It's like this whole planet is one big ghost town…"

He held up a heavy, low-hanging branch, allowing her to pass first. "I am unfamiliar with that type of settlement, but the current circumstances are in –"

As he paused mid-sentence and froze in his tracks, Sam immediately tensed up and slipped into a defensive position. She listened for whatever had caused Teal'c to stop, but could not hear anything out of the ordinary, only the quiet rustle of leaves and the occasional insect chirps typical of any forest.

Teal'c, however, held his alert stance, his head turning slowly to take in the surrounding area.

"What is it?" Sam kept her voice low and her weapon ready.

It took him a few more seconds to reply. "I believe I heard footsteps."

Sam, too, took another sweep of the forest. "I don't hear anything," she whispered.

Finally, the Jaffa nodded, and lowered his staff weapon a few inches. "Nor I." He studied the woods with another suspicious glance, before lowering the staff completely. "Perhaps I, too, am unsettled by the mystery of the Argonians' disappearance."

"Yup…" Sam ducked under another branch. "Like I said, spooky –"

With no warning, she found herself flying backwards as a heavy body slammed into hers. Her backpack softened her fall, and she was able to hold on to her weapon, raising it to fire at the unknown attacker. But someone else caught her from behind, and then there was a third person, pushing her down, grabbing at the gun, causing her to miss her target and fire into the air instead, until finally she was forced to let go of the weapon.

A fist connected with her face, and Sam kicked back at her attacked with an angry cry. The pack protected her back somewhat, and she raised both hands to shield her head from their hits, while she kicked out again and felt her foot connect with soft flesh, and was satisfied to hear a painful grunt. A well-placed elbow to the face caused the second attacker to momentarily loosen his hold, and she was able to stagger to her feet and shake the third one off with a hit to his stomach. The she launched herself at her weapon that lay discarded only a few feet away, grabbed it mid-roll and swivelled to face her three attackers again.

* * *

Daniel walked out of the rundown wooden shack on the side of the road, and shook his head. "Nothing, just like the rest of them. So, what's plan B?"

"I'll let you know when I think of it." With one last, discouraged look around the deserted countryside, Mitchell motioned them to stop walking. "Alright, we're heading back. We can take another route back to the first village."

"But we've barely even started looking!" Vala protested. "We can't just go back! I vote we follow the path to that forest up there and see where it leads."

"Uh, I'm with Mitchell. We're not making any progress. Wherever the Hall of the Fallen is, I don't think we're going to just get lucky and stumble across it…We need a new plan."

"But –"

"Sorry – majority rules," Mitchell told her."Actually, in any _normal_ team, it's the team leader that rules," he amended with a resigned mutter, "but I'll take what I can get...We're headed back," he ordered, nodding toward the path they had just come from. "You can protest on the way."

"But we can't just give up!" she repeated. "We have to find these people and fix whatever's wrong with them!"

The two men exchanged a glance. She noticed it, and crossed her arms defensively.

"What? I thought you said this was important."

"It is," Daniel gave her a suspicious sideways glance, "it's just the unusual burst of philanthropy that's a little scary…"

Mitchell hurried to cut her off before she could get into another verbal duel with the archaeologist. "Look, if we want to help these people, we have to _find_ them first, and we can't afford to waste time on dead ends."

"It's not a dead end! The people in all these villages must have gone somewhere, and they were probably on foot," she retorted. "So either the Hall is within walking distance, or there's some way to transport to it that's within walking distance. All we have to do is find –"

"_Colonel Mitchell. This is Colonel Davidson, do you read me?_"

"Hold that thought," Cam told her as he reached for his radio. "Yeah, go ahead, Davidson."

"_Colonel Carter and Teal'c's emergency transport beacons just disappeared off our radar, and we can't reach them. Do you know anything about that?_"

"What? Damn it –no, we split up to cover more ground. Did anything come up on the sensors?"

"_Everything looks normal, but their signals just dropped out._"

"It could've been a ring platform," Vala said in a low voice, "like the one that lead to the Ancient buried treasure."

Mitchell nodded. "Davidson, can you use our beacons to beam us to their last known location?"

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Jackson and Vala straighten up and get their weapons ready.

"_I can_," came Davidson's voice, "_but I'm not sure I want to. Whatever happened to the two of them…_"

"Do it please," Mitchell requested. "We'll let you know what we find."

There was a brief silence on the other side, then…"_Alright Colonel. We'll beam you a few hundred yards from their last known location. Be careful._"

* * *

The three of them materialized in a patch of scattered trees at the foot of a grassy hill. There were no buildings in sight, nor any noises that would indicate the presence of people.

"Sam! Teal'c!" Mitchell raised his voice loud enough to carry through the trees, although he was wary of being too loud. "Hello?"

A few feet away, Daniel shook his head after trying the radio. Vala had walked a little further in the hope of finding their teammates, but she returned after a minute with a disappointed expression. "They're not here. I didn't see a ring platform anywhere, either."

A winding path led up the hill at a mild slope. Daniel craned his neck, but he could not see past the first few turns in the road. "Think they might have gone up this hill for some reason?"

"Wouldn't explain why we can't reach them." Mitchell frowned. "This hill _is_ big enough to cover a whole underground structure like the one we found in England…"

"Except that one was built by the Ancients, not the Asgard."

"They _were_ allies, no reason why they couldn't share a few useful tricks." The colonel took another look around, but could see no immediate concrete evidence of what had happened. He reached for his radio again. "This is Mitchell. No sign of them here," he communicated to the Odyssey. "We think they may have been transported somewhere else."

"_Keep me posted, please,_" said Colonel Davidson. "_We'll keep scanning for their beacons or any abnormal readings._"

"Sam? Muscles?" Vala tried shouting for them as well, also with no results. "They _must_ have found the way into that Hall of yours, so we can find it too!"

Daniel nodded. "On Cimmeria, the way in was marked by Thor's symbol, so look around on the trees and the stones…"

They scattered out, searching every tree trunk, kneeling by every large rock in the hope of finding the Asgard rune that Daniel had drawn out for them. Once they moved out of sight of each other, Cam began to call out to them every minute or so, ostensibly to check on their progress, but really to make sure they were still where they were supposed to be.

"Did you find anything? Jackson?"

"_Not yet_," came Daniel's voice from somewhere to his right.

"Vala?"

"No!" she retorted irritatedly, shoving a large piece of moss off a boulder, only to find nothing but a colony of insects underneath. "Ergh! Would you stop, Cameron, if I find something I'll be sure to let you kn –_ow_‼"

The last syllable came out as a strangled cry, as Vala suddenly noticed a silhouette materialize right above her. She tripped against the boulder as she scrambled backwards, bringing her weapon up and ready to fire…

"_Whoa_‼ It's me! Don't shoot!"

Vala stared for a moment. Then her face broke into a large grin. "Sam!" She wrapped the other woman in an enthusiastic hug. "You're alive!"

She started to call for the others, only to notice them rushing over already, alerted by her and Sam's loud voices.

"Nice of you to drop by," Mitchell grinned, then his joy faded somewhat as he noticed she was alone. "Where's Teal'c?"

"He's fine," the blonde hurried to reassure them. "We found the Hall of the Fallen…"

"What happened to your face?" For the first time, Vala noticed the large cut on Sam's left cheek.

"Uh…it's a long story," the other woman seemed slightly uncomfortable, her cheeks reddening slightly. "We got into a little…misunderstanding…with some of the Argonians."

"Hope the other guy looks worse," Cam joked.

To their surprise, Sam's blush intensified. "Unfortunately…"

"So, did you find out what's going on?" asked Daniel. "Why are they all hiding?"

Sam's expression grew sober. "More or less…you should hear it straight from them." She headed for a tree stump a few feet away, and moved some twigs and leaves out of the way to reveal the mark of Thor. "This should take us straight to the Hall; it's buried under the hill."

Cam reached for his radio. "Give me a second to fill in Davidson. He was a little worried when you and Teal'c dropped off the radar."

"Our radios don't work down there," she confirmed, "that's why I came back to contact you. Teal'c stayed behind to tell the Argonians more about who we are, now that they know we're not 'ettins'."

"Wow, never thought I'd heard that word again." Daniel commented, then explained for Vala's benefit. "It's what the people on Cimmeria – the other Asgard protectorate we mentioned – used to call the Goa'uld." He looked at Sam again. "Is that who's attacking them? A Goa'uld?"

"Uh, probably not. I think they just use the term loosely for whoever means them harm." She met Vala's eyes. "You were right, though. It wasn't a natural disaster; someone's been attacking the villages." To her credit, the dark-haired woman did not look happy to be proven right.

"Alright, we're all set." Mitchell walked back toward the rest of them. "We'll check in with the _Odyssey_ in an hour. Take us to Valhalla, Sam."

* * *

"This is…incredible."

Daniel stared in awe at the enormous underground cavern. It looked to be at least a hundred feet high, as he could barely see the ceiling from the little platform that they had materialized onto. Several artificial light sources seemed to float about thirty feet above them, suspended in midair, casting a warm golden light that coated the vast stone walls.

Even more impressive than what was above them, however, was what they could see right below the slightly elevated platform. The ground level of the Hall of the Fallen was streaked with softly winding walls, which divided it several large, roofless chambers, as well as numerous smaller spaces. The cavern seemed to stretch on indefinitely, and no matter how hard Daniel tried, he could not see the far end.

"No wonder we couldn't find any people, this place is big enough to hold all of them!"

Next to him, Sam shook her head. "Actually, it isn't…that's one of the problems."

"You have returned, Samantha!" A middle-aged woman in a long, somewhat wrinkled dress walked up the ramp to the platform. "And you brought your friends, as you said you would!"

Sam greeted her with a smile. "Everyone, this is Arsalan. She's one of the leaders of the nearest village." She introduced the woman to everyone else on the team, as well. "We're all here to help you any way we can."

"We are grateful that the great Thor has sent you," Arsalan replied, joining her palms together in a silent gesture of thanks. "The tall one, Teal'c, is already with Gaion and the other elders, they are waiting for us."

"Excuse me," Daniel fell into step beside her as they descended from the platform onto the ground level, "how many of your people are in this Hall right now?"

"All the villages we could get word to," she replied, "and some who came on their own after the ettins raided their homes. But there are still many who have not come, and even if they do, there will soon be no room left…"

Now that they had reached the ground level, they began to understand that the Hall, majestic and vast as it was, was indeed not enough to house the entire population. The corridors between the winding walls were overflowing with people, and most of the rooms they passed were packed to capacity. The natives looked careworn and dishevelled, but they all gave hopeful glances and broke into excited whispers as the team walked past.

"The people are scared," Arsalan told them as she led on, "we don't know what to do. We have never wished for anything but peace, we do not wish to fight and we do not know how…"

"Some of us know how! And we'll fight the ettins!" A small group broke off from the crowd in the corridor and walked up to them. They were led by a boy who could not have been older than seventeen. He had a black eye, and his left arm was in a sling. When he laid eyes on Sam, his face broke into a grin, which only opened a fresh cut on his lip. "We will follow you in battle, Samantha Carter! You and your warrior friends! For the glory of the Argonian people!"

For a second, Sam squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. Then she gave the boy a small smile. "Um, thanks…"

"Ulan!" Arsalan put her hands on her hips and gave the boys a stern glare. "Haven't you done enough damage for one day? Go home and stop making trouble for yourselves!" She shook a reproving finger at them. "You lot are lucky that these great warriors of Thor were wise enough to recognize your imprudent children's games, and not bring us back your lifeless hides!"

Mitchell turned his head to give Sam a long look. "_That_ was the other guy in your fight?" Behind him, Vala bit her lips to suppress a large grin.

Sam was blushing furiously again. "Ulan and his um, friends have been apparently leading 'patrols', trying to catch the ettins by surprise." She sighed. "They attacked me and Teal'c, and we…had a little…scuffle, before we realized who they were."

"And they should thank Thor that you realized it at all," Arsalan grumbled with another glare at the boys. "Now off with you and stop bothering the people who have come to help us!"

But the oldest boy, Ulan, refused to leave before giving Sam a formal salute with his un-bandaged fist to his chest. "It was an honour to face you in battle, Samantha Carter!" Two of his equally bruised friends echoed the sentiment and the salute. "You are a great and beautiful warrior!"

This time, Vala could not stop her wide grin. "Look like someone's got a crush," she whispered as the group of boys vanished down the corridor.

Sam groaned. "Please," she begged, and was immensely relieved when Vala mercifully did not continue…

"You beat up a little boy?"

…her relief was short-lived as a smirking Daniel gladly took Vala's place at her side.

"Jackson." Mitchell's expression was humourless as he motioned the archaeologist to keep moving. Sam's shoulders relaxed again… "It was _three_ little boys."

* * *

"The ettins came to our village two moons ago." Gaion, one of the other village leaders, sat on the floor in the small circular room where they had gathered to tell SG1 the full story. "They had weapons that could hit us from any distance! They entered our homes. We tried to ask them what they wanted, but they didn't care to talk. They just fired their weapons and laughed." His tone was bitter as the older man recalled the traumatizing attack. "They pulled people out of their homes, men and boys. Anyone who tried to resist, they killed with their weapons, and they just took another in his stead."

"How many of them were there?" Mitchell's tone was grave.

Gaion shook his head. "Not many. Five, maybe six." He met the colonel's eye. "I know what you're thinking, six men who could bring down a whole village. You must think us cowards."

"You have to understand," Arsalan spoke up before Mitchell could reply, "for ten generations we have lived in peace. Even before that, when the evil god Saros oppressed our people, we did not wish to fight. Our hearts are peaceful and it is our way of life."

"We understand that," Mitchell clarified. "No one's blaming you for what's happening. Besides, even if you did fight back, your weapons would be no match for theirs."

"We have no weapons to fight back," another man in the circle murmured. "Nothing to defend ourselves, because for many hundreds of years there was no reason to fear an attack. Why has the Great Thor abandoned us?"

The team exchanged grim glances.

"He didn't abandon you," Daniel explained. "He…left _us_ to make sure your people are safe. That's why we're here. Whoever's behind these attacks, we'll make sure they stop."

"Where did the ettins take the men and boys?" asked Sam.

"We do not know," Arsalan responded. "They came in ships, from the sky. They were seen putting the people they took from us on those ships…and then they left, and we have known nothing of our people since."

From his spot in the circle, Mitchell turned to give Daniel an incredulous look, and whispered in a low tone. "Wow. First your little camping trip adventure, now this. What is this, alien abduction month?"

A tear rolled down Arsalan's cheek. "They were our brothers and sons, our friends, our neighbours."

As she was sitting right next to the woman, Vala leaned over to give her a comforting pat on her hand. "It's okay, we'll get them back."

Mitchell shot her a warning glare. _Don't make promises you can't keep_, his expression said plainly.

"They came again, only a few days after the first time, and attacked another village," said Gaion. "By then I had begun to search for the Hall of the Fallen in the old writings."

"Thor told us long ago to go to the Hall and seek his help if we are ever in mortal danger," Arsalan explained. "He made it a safe haven, for us to hide and wait until he comes to defeat the ettins."

Gaion nodded. "After messengers spoke of the second attack, I came to find it and send the Great Thor a prayer for help."

"But the ettins still came to our village, and to our neighbours as well," another woman from the circle spoke up. "They took our people, too. It will soon be a full moon since I have last seen my brother."

Mitchell frowned. "That's a lot of attacks. Exactly how many people did they take?"

"A dozen or more from each village. More than one hundred, in total," Gaius said regretfully. "We sent word as far as we could, for people to come to the Hall but our messengers are not fast enough. And the Hall is not big enough for all of us."

"Please, can you help us get our families back?" the same woman pleaded.

"We'll do everything we can," Sam promised.

"When was the last attack?" asked Mitchell. "The way I see it," he explained to the rest of the team, "our best bet to figure out who these people are, is to catch them on their next visit."

"The ettins came to our village four days ago," an older man spoke up. "That is the last time that we know of."

"They should be back soon, then. Good." The colonel's hard tone promised nothing good for the mysterious attackers.

"Please, warriors of the Great Thor," Arsalan joined her hands together again in an entreating gesture, "stop the ettins from taking our people."

"Please bring our families back safe," the other woman repeated.

"Help us, in the name of Thor," echoed from around the room.

SG1 exchanged determined glances.

"We will," Daniel promised for all of them.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! And a huge thanks to SC, Myosotis and Tel nok shock, who right now are editing and adding their own ideas to the 30+ page doc file for the next episode. **


	8. Legacy(1), pt 4

**Thanks to everyone reading this story, and special thanks to those of you who take the time to review!**

**Legacy (1), pt. 4**

"Colonel, this is a direct violation of the conditions that the President and the IOA imposed when they agreed to allow this mission to proceed!"

Ian Davidson slowly tapped his fingers on the armrests of his command seat, giving the IOA representative a calculating look. The man had marched onto the bridge angry and determined to have his say, and he did not seem to care that there was not a single person on the ship who agreed with him.

"You can't possibly expect the _Odyssey_ to wait here idly until these supposed attackers return. What if they don't come back for days, or weeks?"

"According to the Argonian leaders, it should be a matter of one or two days, at most," Colonel Carter interceded calmly from her temporary seat near one of the database ports on the bridge.

"And then what? What if there's a whole fleet of enemy ships?" Marcus Johnson turned to give Davidson another reproachful look. "The President clearly forbid you from taking this ship into any potentially hostile situations. The _Odyssey_ carries an immeasurable wealth of technology and information. I don't think you understand what's at stake here!"

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing." Daniel sounded irritated. "Those people have lost their families, they've had to flee their homes! We can't just take off and leave them to fend for themselves."

"We can leave them weapons," the IOA rep argued, "then they can defend themselves instead of expecting us to risk our most advanced ship."

"They wouldn't know how to use our weapons, and they don't want to fight."

"And you're _not allowed_ to fight," Johnson retorted. "at least not using this ship." He turned to point an accusatory finger at Sam. " You told the President it was probably a natural disaster threatening these people, Colonel. You said you'd only use the _Odyssey_ to get here, and perhaps find out more about the planet from the Asgard databases. Nowhere in the deal was it mentioned that you'd throw it at unknown enemy ships!"

Mitchell took a step forward, physically interposing himself between the man and Sam, until the IOA rep was forced to lower his pointing finger and take a step back.

"That's because we didn't know what was going on, Johnson," the SG1 leader replied in a low, warning tone. "Now we're here and the _Odyssey's_ our best shot at helping these people."

But the other man would not back down. "You're breaking the terms of the agreement. As the representative of the President and the IOA, I forbid you to risk this ship in a foolish, pointless confrontation. I have the authority to order us out of here if the situation threatens our assets – and I'm doing so now."

Mitchell glanced at Davidson, who nodded. The IOA representative did have the authority to do that.

And apparently he intended to make full use of that authority. "Unless you want to find yourself in direct violation of the President's orders, Colonel Davidson," he threatened, "I suggest you listen to me and take us out of here before –"

"Alright, Mr. Johnson, you've made your point." Davidson got up from the command seat and walked over to Marks's station. "Major – is there any place we can park her so that any ships landing on Argon wouldn't see us?"

"That's not what I –"

"I heard you." He spoke in a deceptively calm voice. "But I'm still in command of this ship, and I'm asking my pilot a question. Keeping the _Odyssey_ out of sight doesn't violate orders," he pointed out, "so you can keep quiet about it and let me run my ship, or you can get the hell off my bridge."

Under the colonel's firm glare, Marcus Johnson fell silent, although his dark visage promised that they had not heard the end of the argument.

"There's a large moon orbiting the fourth planet in this system, Sir," Marks responded to his commander's earlier question. "Our long-range sensors should detect incoming vessels before they detect us, giving us enough time to put that moon between us and them. If we lower our energy output and stick close to the surface of the moon, they shouldn't see us on their radar."

"Do it, Major." Davidson turned away from the pilot's station, and met Mitchell's eyes. "We can wait a day or two for those ships to show up, Colonel, but I can't engage them in any sort of confrontation without breaking direct orders. So I suggest you spend that time coming up with another way to stop them."

* * *

"This seems like a terrible idea." Vala eyed Mitchell doubtfully as he pulled a crumpled cloth tunic over his white shirt. He had also exchanged his uniform pants for a pair of simple cloth ones, similar to what Gaion and the other Argonian leaders had worn.

"You heard Davidson, we can't use the _Odyssey_ to just shoot up our not-so-friendly visitors from outer space." Cam pulled on the tunic to adjust it, and grimaced as the too-long sleeves fell almost to the tips of his fingers. "Our next best chance is to take them on when they reach the surface. With this on," he pointed to his outfit, "they'll think we're just a couple more Argonians, and we'll be able to take them by surprise. It's a fine plan," he told her.

"Oh the _plan_ is fine," Vala clarified, "it's just that I've seen you and Daniel try to work a disguise before, and you're both _dreadful_ at it."

"Yeah, it'll probably help that we're not trying to pass for space pirates." Daniel tugged on the sleeves of his own tunic, almost identical to Mitchell's. "I think we can handle the role of peaceful villagers."

"Chances are, you'll be dealing with exactly" her tone mimicked his on the next words, "_space pirates_, and they'll take one look at you two and know you're hiding something." She put a hand on her hip. "I should come with you. This is exactly my area of expertise. Isn't that why I'm on this team in the first place?"

Mitchell rolled his eyes. "No," he said emphatically.

Vala looked offended.

"And you can't come anyway," Daniel pointed out, "because so far the 'ettins' have only kidnapped men or older boys, and last time I checked, you didn't qualify –" He trailed off as he heard his own words. Mitchell silently shook his head.

Vala crossed her arms and gave him a challenging look beneath highly arched eyebrows. "I don't think they'll be checking as thoroughly as you did," she said dryly.

His only response was a conceding grimace; it was clear he had walked right into that one.

"You're not coming," Mitchell said definitively. "Jackson's right, you're not these guys' type, and if we force it, it'll only make them suspicious. Sorry T., that goes for you too," he anticipated Teal'c's comment, "I don't think they're expecting to find any Jaffa in those villages. Jackson and I can pass as your regular peace-loving Argonians and get on board one of those ships."

"They may still significantly outnumber you." Teal'c wore an unconvinced expression. "And the Zat'nik'tels you conceal may not prove sufficient in a fight."

"Well, hopefully we won't have to take them on all at once," Daniel replied. "If we manage to get on board a ship, we should be able to find out who they are, what they want, and hopefully what they did with all the people they kidnapped."

Leaning against one the wall a few feet away, Sam shook her head. "I'm more worried about what happens after you get on a ship. You'll be locked in a cargo hold with no back-up. And we don't know what they do to the prisoners they take."

"That's why we have the emergency beaming beacons." Cam patted the rudimentary chest pocket on his tunic. "And we'll be in radio range. If something goes wrong, you can beam us back to the _Odyssey_."

"It is a risky plan," said Teal'c.

There was a brief silence as they all acknowledged the truth of his words, then Mitchell let out a sigh.

"Well, with your buddy Thor gone and the IOA leash on the _Odyssey, _right now we're all those people down there have. And this is the best we can come up with under the circumstances. So if it's this or take off and admit the Asgard were wrong about us…"

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, it's not really a choice."

Teal'c, too, silently dipped his head. Sam gave a quick, grim nod. Arms still crossed, Vala heaved a sigh of her own as she watched the rest of them with a vaguely dissatisfied expression.

* * *

"Sir, we've got two signals on our long-range sensors." Marks entered a command into his console and checked the readings. "Could be our pirate ships. Headed this way."

"Position us on the far side of that moon, Major, and reduce our energy levels as much as you can."

"Moving into position…" Marks pressed a few keys on his console. A few seconds later, the lights on the bridge dimmed, and the loud whirr of the air circulation dimmed to a soft hum. "Energy output is minimal."

In the seat next to Davidson's, Sam activated the communication system. "Cam? Looks like you're about to have company."

"_Roger that_," came Mitchell's voice through the speakers. "_About time, too, I was starting to think they'd stood us up_."

"Be careful," she warned. "We'll be here to get you out if you need it. _Odyssey_ out."

Once she had ended the communication, Davidson leaned forward in his seat. "Marks, can you give us a closer visual on those ships?"

"They're too far for the passive scans, Sir. And an active scan might show up on their radar."

The colonel let out a dissatisfied sigh. "Then I guess we'll just have to count on Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson to get close enough to see who we're dealing with… How long before they enter this system?"

Marks entered a few commands, then frowned at the readings. "Uh…it's a little…unclear."

Looking at the same readings, Sam matched his puzzled expression. "I see it too. Trying to compute a predictive algorithm."

"The ships' trajectory is…all over the place," Marks explained. "Instead of coming in on a straight course, they keep making these random turns."

"Could this be an attack pattern? Do they know we're here?" Marcus Johnson stood rigidly next to the pilot's console, ignoring the wary looks that Marks shot over his shoulder. "I warned you that this was a bad idea, Colonel."

Davidson pressed his lips together in annoyance, but made no direct reply. "What's going on? Why aren't they flying on a normal course?"

Sam just shook her head, still typing quickly on the console keyboard. "Can't find a function that accurately maps their flight pattern…"

"We need to get the _Odyssey_ out of here," Johnson insisted.

"No we don't, it's just the speed upgrades." Vala was sitting at one of the unmanned stations on the bridge, her back leaning against the large computer behind her. The casual comment caused everyone's attention to turn her way.

"Excuse me?" Davidson gave her a questioning look.

"From the Argonians' description, their attackers are using cargo ships," she explained in the same offhand manner, "which are probably upgraded to be faster, because obviously the last thing you want when you're running illegal human cargo is a sluggish ship."

The IOA representative rolled his eyes. "Obviously," he agreed with rich sarcasm.

Vala ignored him. " But most cargo ships aren't made to be _that_ fast, so the speed upgrades tend to upset the inertia compensation systems, which makes the ship less stable and more sensitive to the gravitational pull of planetary bodies." She bit her lips and her shoulders lifted in a small shrug as she finished: "So unless you want to spend the whole ride yanking your ship left and right to compensate for the unstable inertial pull, it's a good idea to plot a course that goes in wide arcs around planets."

There was a brief silence, broken only by the sound of Sam working on the computer in the front of her. After a few seconds, her focused expression was replaced by a smile. "Vala's right," she nodded, "that completely predicts the ships' messy trajectories."

Davidson, too, gave the dark-haired woman an appreciative nod. "Good catch."

Johnson let out a soft, sardonic huff. "Nothing beats experience, I suppose." He only shrugged at the ship commander's stern frown. "Oh, I mean no offense, I'm just pointing out that…it takes one to catch one, so to speak." Vala shifted uncomfortably in her seat and returned a wary glare to his insincere smile. "It's good that all those illegal cargo runs you must've made are coming in useful at a time like this."

Teal'c, who had so far stood silently to the side of the command seat, stepped forward until he was only inches away from the man, and towered over him with a sober expression.

"Now we are certain that those are indeed the cargo ships that attacked the Argonians," he spoke slowly, "and that their unsystematic trajectories do not indicate that they have detected our presence. We are also aware of a potential weakness in our enemies' vessels." His eyebrows inched up ever so slightly as he stared as the smaller man. "It is fortunate indeed that we were able to deduce this amount of information."

Johnson took a step back. "Right. That's what I said," he replied in a carefully neutral tone. "Fortunate indeed."

"If my calculations are correct," Sam spoke up, "they should be entering Argon's atmosphere in about seventeen minutes."

"_Wow_." Marks muttered from his station, then looked a little chagrined as Davidson gave him a questioning glance. "Sorry, Sir…but that _is_ fast. We're faster, though," he assured them with a few proud nods that caused the two colonels to exchange an amused smile.

"It doesn't matter how fast we are," the IOA rep reminded them, "we're not getting anywhere near those ships. President's orders, remember?"

Vala leaned toward Teal'c, who was now standing by her seat, and spoke in a low voice: "I liked the little bald man better."

The Jaffa dipped his head in silent agreement.

* * *

"Oh those are big guns." Mitchell watched grimly as a group of six men marched into the village, shouting and shooting warning shots into the air. Although they knew it was all part of a plan to defeat the attackers, the villagers scattered in very real fright. "Teal'c was right, a couple of Zats aren't gonna cut it if it comes down to a shooting match."

"Well, hopefully we can get on a ship, figure out where they took the rest of the Argonians, hijack the ship and bring everyone back." Daniel grimaced at the doubtful look the colonel gave him. "Yeah, it's never that easy, I know."

The strangers advanced slowly toward their position, still shooting after the natives who fled chaotically toward the other side of the village. They had already cornered a couple of the volunteers who had agreed beforehand to help with SG-1's plan.

"Any idea who they are yet?"

"Uh, I'm not personally acquainted with all the bad guys in the galaxy." The archaeologist ducked as an energy blast flew over his head. "I just hope they don't recognize _us_, with all the bounties out there on our heads…"

"Thought we got rid of everyone offering those bounties."

"Nah, there's always someone…"

Cam grimaced. "There goes Gaion." As previously agreed, the Argonian leader had also allowed himself to be captured. "Alright Jackson, keep your head down and get yourself caught."

"You know the longer we do this…" Daniel pretended to stumble and rolled on the ground a few times for effect. Mitchell pretended to stop and try to help him up. "…the more I realize it's a really bad plan without the _Odyssey_ to back us up."

The SG1 leader sighed as he felt a gun pressed into his ribs. He held up his hands slowly. "Yup," he agreed, and allowed the armed man behind him to shove him forward.

By then, most of the other Argonians had disappeared into the neighbouring woods, exactly as planned. The attackers did not sound happy to only come back with ten or so prisoners.

"Trayan wanted at least another thirty, and I'm sick of making this lousy trip back and forth," one of them said. "Let's just get all we need now."

"We'll go grab some more from the woods," another suggested. "They're like animals, they'll only run as far as the first tree." Laughter met his words.

"Leave 'em," said a third, "I don't feel like getting mud on my boots. We don't need that many more anyway, not until these die off. Boss won't count 'em."

The two SG1 men exchanged a concerned look. _That_ did not sound good.

"Well, maybe we'll make room for just a couple more," said the first man with a grin. He nodded toward two more of their group, who were returning from the opposite end of the village shoving three teenage boys at gunpoint. "Looks like we've got a nice catch after all," the man guffawed.

"Ulan!" Gaion's tone was desperate, and he reached for the boy as soon as the others had joined their group.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cam hissed as they began to move forward slowly, herded by the armed men. "You were supposed to be in the Hall!"

"We want to fight!" Ulan responded in a loud whisper of his own. "We'll go with you to defeat the ettins and save our people!"

The colonel wanted to yell at the boy some more, but the deed was done and there was no going back. He gritted his teeth and glared at Ulan instead, then exchanged another worried glance with Daniel.

Only a few minutes in, and things were already not going as planned.

* * *

"One of the ships is taking off," Marks reported. "And…there goes the second one." They all watched tensely as two blinking dots appeared on the screen, then began moving away slowly. "Ships are clear of the planet, Sir."

Davidson turned to give Sam a questioning look. She was leaning over the computer screen by her seat, studying the readings.

"We're still reading their emergency beacons, and they're moving away from the planet too." Sam looked up and nodded, her expression worried. "They made it, they're on one of those ships."

"Weren't they supposed to radio in and confirm?" Marcus Johnson sounded sceptical. "Your adherence to mission protocol is…relaxed, to say the least."

"If there's someone guarding them," she suggested calmly, "they might not be able to use their radios to communicate with us."

The IOA rep shrugged. "As long as they take control of that ship and get in touch with us before they move out of range…" He frowned. "Otherwise, you'll have to transport the two of them back on board, and we will leave immediately. We can't risk those ships coming back to attack _us_."

"I don't know if transporting them back will be an option!" Major Marks suddenly turned in his seat. "Sir, we've lost the signal from Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson's emergency beacons."

Sam immediately checked her own console. "There's some sort of interference…I'm trying to isolate the source…." She entered a series of quick commands into the computer, then shook her head in frustration. "If they're being held in a space too close to the engines, it might be interference from the engines and the speed upgrade technology that's jamming their signals."

Her eyes rose to meet Davidson's, and the unspoken request was plain in her expression. The corners of his mouth drew downward as he tried to communicate that he could not do as she wanted.

"If they don't succeed in taking control of the ship before they leave communication range…" she started to say, but the _Odyssey_ commander lifted a hand.

"You know I can't order the _Odyssey_ to chase them, Sam."

Near the front of the bridge, Johnson crossed his arms with a determined frown.

"We can't leave them without backup! We don't have to chase them," Carter conceded, "just…move to stay within range."

"Absolutely not!" The IOA representative cried. "It is completely against the President's wishes to take this ship into unknown, likely hostile territory."

"Without the option to transport them back, Cam and Daniel are completely on their own," Sam retorted. "That was never part of the plan!"

"Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson knew what they were getting into, _against_ my recommendation I might add. They'll just have to take control of that ship, or find their own way back! We're not –"

"Major Marks." With a curt glance at Johnson, Davidson addressed his pilot. "How long before those ships move out of communication and transport range?"

"Twenty minutes, Sir…give or take. Maybe a little longer for the comms."

The _Odyssey_ commander let out a long breath. "Maintain current position."

"We can't just abandon them!" Sam's eyes were wide with disbelief. "We have no idea where those ships are going, or what those men plan to do with the prisoners they take. We _have_ to –"

"I have very clear orders," Davidson replied softly, his gaze apologetic. "I can't take the _Odyssey_ into a potentially hostile situation. I'm afraid Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson will have to find their own way back…we'll be here to help them when they do."

He ignored the horrified looks he was receiving from the remaining members of SG1, and nodded to his pilot again. "Maintain current position, Major," he repeated.

"Yes, Sir."

Everyone turned anxious gazes to the large screen, and watched as the blinking dots moved further and further away...

_To be continued..._

* * *

**I know, I hate cliffhangers too. It will only be 2-3 days before the next chapter goes up, though! **

**Many thanks to the rest of the VS team: Myosotis, SC and Tel nok shock, who are, as always, wonderful. (although one of them did just warn me to take some antacids before reading a scene she wrote, so I don't know what's coming, guys!)**

**Comments, questions, observations etc. always welcome. We constantly aim to improve, and we learn a lot from what you have to say. **


	9. Power Play (2), pt 1

**It's been just over a month since I posted the first chapter of the first episode. Really enjoying writing this, and all of us on the VS team want to thank you for following the story. We hit the 1,000 viewers mark a couple of days ago, and (since I'm still oddly fascinated with the whole country-stats thing...) there are people from 42 countries reading this...which is of course a fitting number, given how it's also the answer to life, the universe and everything. Right?**

******Power Play (2), pt. 1**

**Previously, on Stargate SG-1...**

_Teal'c: "If the Tau'ri have accepted the knowledge and technology of the Asgard, they must also accept the responsibility toward the planets in their protection."_

_ooo_

_Teal'c: "One of the Asgard protectorates has activated this…'panic button'? Does the message include the nature of their emergency?"_

_Sam: "Unfortunately, no. There's no way to know…"_

_Mitchell: "…unless we go there."_

_Landry: "The planet doesn't have a stargate."_

_ooo_

_Landry: "The IOA doesn't agree with the President's final decision to give us the ship. Since they've been overruled, now they're making sure we don't get it for free."_

_Marcus Johnson: " The President has asked me to accompany you on this mission in a supervisory capacity, to ensure that you abide by all the agreed-upon conditions."_

_Sam: "We promised to bring the Odyssey back without a scratch, or else…"_

_ooo_

_Gaion: " The ettins came to our village…they pulled people out of their homes."_

_Arsalan: " They came in ships, from the sky. And then they left, and we have known nothing of our people since. Please, warriors of the Great Thor, stop the ettins from taking our people."_

_ooo_

_Marcus Johnson: "You're _not allowed_ to fight, at least not using this ship!"_

_Colonel Davidson: " I can't engage them in any sort of confrontation without breaking direct orders. Spend that time coming up with another way to stop them."_

_Daniel: " If we manage to get on board a ship, we should be able to find out who they are, what they want, and hopefully what they did with all the people they kidnapped."_

_Sam: " I'm more worried about what happens _after_ you get on that ship."_

_ooo_

_Major Marks: " Sir, we've lost the signal from Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson's emergency beacons."_

_Sam: "Cam and Daniel are completely on their own…!"_

_Davidson: "I have very clear orders. I can't take the Odyssey into a potentially hostile situation."_

_Sam: "We can't just abandon them!"_

_Marcus Johnson: " Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson knew what they were getting into…they'll just have to find their own way back."_

* * *

Daniel took a step forward hoping to find more space, and for the tenth time bumped his head against the oddly slanted bulkhead. With an irritated groan, he massaged the bruised area. "It's been hours. How much longer do you think it'll take?"

Standing a few feet away, shoulder to shoulder with the Argonians in the cramped, dark cargo hold, Mitchell rolled his eyes. "I don't know, why don't you ask the flight attendant?"

Daniel shrugged, and slowly made his way through the Argonians to the cargo hold door, where he pounded his fist against the metal. "Excuse me," he shouted, "are we there yet?" Another pound. "Hello?" Finally, he gave up and turned to face the rest of the group again. "I think the flight attendant's busy."

"Probably for the best," commented Mitchell. "I don't think we'd like their service." He pulled the small radio out of his pocket again, and tried to contact the _Odyssey_, but as before, the only response was static. "Yeah, I'd say we're definitely out of range now."

"Doesn't explain why it wasn't working earlier…" Daniel tried his own radio, with the same lack of success. "Or why the _Odyssey_ hasn't transported us back…" He patted the hidden pocket that held the emergency beacon, just to make sure that it was still there.

Ulan, the young Argonian man, elbowed his way closer to the two of them. "So when do we break out of here and attack those men?" he asked eagerly.

If it hadn't been too dark to see anyone's face clearly, Cam would've exchanged a grim look with Daniel. As it was, he could only grimace to himself. "Yeah, doesn't look like that's gonna happen. We'll wait to get to our destination before making a move."

"I thought you would use your weapons to overpower the ettins on this ship." Gaion's voice sounded anxious. "Then they would tell us where they took everyone else, and we could go and bring them back."

"That was the best case scenario," Mitchell admitted, "where we'd be in a position to eavesdrop on them or take them by surprise…and where their weapons would be smaller and fewer. That's not the case, so the plan's changed."

"But what if there are many more of them where they're taking us?" Gaion became even more agitated. "What if we _cannot_ overpower them there? Then we will only become prisoners, and the attacks on our people will continue."

Ulan, however, hurried to reassure the older man. "Of course we'll overpower them! The warriors of Thor have their own ship, and it's a thousand times bigger than these ettins' ships! They can destroy the ettins in an eye blink!"

This time, Mitchell heard Daniel's nervous sigh, and knew they were both thinking the same thing. The mighty ship was not going anywhere near this battle. And with the radios not working, the two of them and a dozen clueless Argonians were entirely on their own.

* * *

"Colonel, a moment of your time, please?" Sam bit her lips to keep her expression under control, as she waited for Davidson to grant her request. For a moment, it seemed like he would wave her off, then finally he exhaled and got up from the command seat.

"Marks, you're in charge." He held out a hand for Sam to lead the way.

As soon as the door to the bridge had shut behind them, she swivelled on her heels and faced him with a pleading expression.

"Cam and Daniel are out there, Ian! I don't know why we couldn't activate their emergency beacons while they were still in range, but we can't just let them fend for themselves! Those ships left behind a trace of gamma-band particles, we can track it and find them –"

"You know what mission plan the President and Landry signed on," the _Odyssey_ commander reminded her, "if we break the terms of that agreement–"

"What's the worst that could happen? A new budget cut to the SGC, a slap on the wrist? The IOA hates us already anyway, _that's_ why Johnson's trying to stop us from helping Cam and Daniel! And you saw how he is with Vala!" She paced the corridor as she spoke, unable to contain her agitation. "The man is just using that ridiculous list of conditions that we agreed to as an excuse to fuel his power trip! And if General Landry were here, he'd break those terms in a second if it meant getting our people back!"

"Damn it, Sam, this isn't just about you!" Davidson's entire demeanour exuded frustration. "You think Johnson's in there making a pain of himself because of some IOA grudge against you? This has nothing to do with you!" His eyes widened to emphasize the point. "He's testing me, not you! He already knows _you'd_ break the President's terms, and he – and the IOA –want to know if _I_ will."

Sam opened her mouth to argue, then thought better about it as the truth of his words sunk in. Davidson sighed and met her eyes with a conflicted gaze.

"Don't you get it? They haven't decided on a final senior crew yet, and they want someone who's qualified, but also willing to play ball. It's all about politics, Sam…if I side with you on this one and order us to chase down those ships, it'll be the last trip I take in that command seat."

Her expression was a mixture of sadness and determination. "It's Cam and Daniel's lives," she said quietly. "For me, that'd be worth more than any command."

"And if the IOA gets rid of me and puts some under-qualified lapdog in charge, what happens the next time you need the _Odyssey_? What happens when Earth needs it instead? What happens to the Asgard legacy then?" He saw that she had no response, and let out another sigh. "I'd go after them right now, you know I would. But…"

"Then put me in charge," she pleaded. "Step down, say you're sick, _anything_. I'm next in line in the chain of command, _I'll_ order us to go after them and I'll take the fall for it."

His lips pressed into a thin line. "I didn't take this command to run away from it at the first obstacle. Besides," he shook his head, "you wouldn't take the fall for it."

"Of course I'd do it!"

He met her eyes with a mixture of honesty and sympathy. "You didn't sign those papers, Sam. Landry did, as your general, and Mitchell did, as your team leader. And if you break the terms, they're gonna be the ones to pay for it before you do."

Sam rubbed a tired hand to her cheek. "We have to go after them."

Davidson bit his lips and said nothing.

* * *

A sudden jerk made all the prisoners lose their footing, and they stumbled into each other in the narrow confined space of the cargo hold.

Mitchell was immediately alert. "That felt like a landing."

"Finally!" Holding a hand against the bulkhead for support, Daniel helped one of the three teenagers get back to his feet. "It feels like we've been here for days."

"Hard to tell for sure, but I'd say more like a few hours, half a day tops." The colonel checked the Zat hidden under his plain tunic. "Heads-up, Jackson, they'll be coming for us. You know the plan."

Daniel did a quick weapons check of his own. "Find the rest of the Argonians, rescue them, figure out a way to get all of us out in one piece." His voice held an ironic undertone. "Sounds like a walk in the park."

The door to the cargo hold was yanked open, and they all had to shield their eyes against the sudden light. When they were finally able to look up again, they were greeted by the muzzles of several weapons.

"Out, all of you," the man at the end of one of the weapons grunted. "Any funny moves, and you're all toast."

As they were herded off the ship, Mitchell studied their surroundings. The ship had landed in the middle of a dry, lifeless field, surrounded on all sides by tall rocky walls and outcrops. There were wide cracks here and there along the rock walls, almost like cave entrances. The ground was covered in some sort of calcareous rock that crumbled under their feet. He could see small wooden shacks a few hundred yards away, and thick wisps of smoke that seemed to rise from the stone outcrops themselves. The air was hot, thick and dry.

Unfortunately, Gaion had been right in his prediction. More armed men walked around the field, some near the wooden shacks, others at the base of the rock walls, hard to spot in the dust and smoke. Mitchell estimated about thirty or so, and he could also spot two more ships, a Tel'tak and a slightly smaller vessel, some distance away from where their the two cargo ships had landed. In the best of cases, Cam estimated, he and Jackson could each take control of one ship, but even then they would be hard pressed to carry over one hundred Argonians on board at once.

"And, on to plan G…" he muttered to himself. The remark was soft enough that none of the armed men heard, but it did earn him an empathetic look from the archaeologist.

As they approached the base of the rock wall, Mitchell began to see for the first time some of the Argonians who had been there longer. A small group of them were being led away at gunpoint, toward the wooden shacks. Their clothes were torn and stained with dust and soot. Their faces were dirty, their eyes sunk deep into their sockets.

It was then that he realized that the wide cracks in the stone walls were not caves, after all. The smoke, the thick, dusty air, the dry rocky terrain, the exhausted Argonian workers…it all added up to one answer.

"It's a naquadah mine…" Apparently, Daniel had come to a similar conclusion. For his part, Mitchell could not tell what in particular was being mined, but since Jackson _had_ seen his fair share of naquadah mines, he trusted the man's judgment.

"They've been taking people and forcing them to work in the mine. Dozens of them, for _months_." The realization horrified Daniel enough to cause him to stop in his tracks, which was not to the liking of their captors.

"Move!" A forceful kick from one of the armed men sent the archaeologist sprawling to the ground, and for one second Mitchell could see the outline of the Zat under his tunic. "Get up, you worthless piece of meat!" Fortunately, the man had not noticed it. "I said, _get up_!" He aimed another kick at Daniel, who was trying to get back to his feet.

"Leave him alone!" Ulan slammed into the man with a furious grunt, sending both of them to the ground.

"No!" Gaion immediately jumped to protect the teenager, but another one of their captors had pulled out his weapon, and he fired at the village leader before anyone could stop him.

The elder Argonian fell to the ground with an agonized cry, his left hand flying instinctively to cover a wide gash in his shoulder. The faint smell of burnt flesh permeated the air.

"No! Gaion!" Ulan tried to rush over to him, but a third captor grabbed him from behind and restrained him. The boy trashed uselessly against the much stronger grip. "Let me go! Gaion! Let go!" His desperate gaze turned to Mitchell. "Help him! Do something!"

But when Daniel made a move to take out his hidden Zat, Cam put a restraining hand on his shoulder, and gave him a warning glare. Another few armed men had run to the scene, and they were now surrounded, outnumbered and outgunned. Two of the Argonians were kneeling by Gaion, while the rest of them huddled together, trying to protect each other. If a gun fight broke out, they would probably all be injured, all killed, and the two SG1 members right along with them.

Daniel understood all of that, and his hand dropped to his side. He closed his eyes against the expression of disappointment in the young Argonian's face.

"But – you were supposed to help us!" Ulan cried. "The mighty Thor sent you to us! You promised! You said you'd –"

"Ulan!" One of the other Argonians took a step forward, although he stopped as soon as three weapons were trained on him. "You are a fool, boy! Look at what your reckless actions have cost Gaion! You shame all of us by not respecting the ways of your elders!"

Murmurs of agreement came from the other members of the group. At the same time, they spread out slowly, subtly incorporating Daniel and Cam into their ranks, after Ulan had unwittingly singled them out.

"The great Thor wanted us to live in peace, not do violence against others!" The Argonian continued, ignoring their captors who began to laugh and jeer at his speech.

Ulan's cheeks burned, and the boy continued to struggle against the man who restrained him."But if we don't –"

"You heard him, boy!" One of the armed men guffawed. "Live in peace!"

"That's why we like you folk so much," another grinned.

"Enough!" A taller man who appeared to be their leader, and was the only one not laughing at the show, lowered his gun. "Trajan's coming back to inspect this operation in two days! Stop wasting time and get these ones to work. Except him," he nodded toward Gaion, "he's useless now, thanks to the idiot who decided to shoot the fresh meat." He surveyed his men with an angry glare, but none of them stepped forward to take the blame. "Kill him," the leader finally barked.

A murmur of panic rose among the Argonians, and they tried to close ranks around Gaion.

"Move, or you all die with him!"

Daniel stepped to the front of the group, and held up his hands. "You don't have to kill him," he pleaded. Then, thinking quickly, he continued: "He can still work! It's just a flesh wound. We'll wrap it up and then you can still get many hours of work out of him! Why waste a resource?"

The leader walked right up to him, and shoved the weapon right in his face. "I don't like attitude in my workers," he growled. "Are you going to be a problem?"

The archaeologist pondered the right answer for a moment. "Uh, no sir!" he eventually decided. "Just pointing out that that man can still do a lot of work, and like you said, why waste uh…fresh meat…?"

The leader kept his weapon trained on him for a moment longer, then finally gave him a hard shove and turned away. "Take them _all_ to the mines," he ordered his men. "Don't waste food on the injured one. If he stops working, shoot him…_and him_," he nodded to Daniel with a satisfied grin.

Daniel sighed and grimaced. He could so see that coming.

As the leader finally walked away and most of the armed men dispersed, Cam's hand let go of his hidden weapon, and the colonel fell into step with the rest of the group as they were shoved toward the naquadah mine.

* * *

It had been a few years since he had last seen the inside of a naquadah mine, and Daniel thought that he could have happily lived the rest of his life without repeating the experience. Or at least, if he absolutely had to see another mine, it would have been nice to do it as a visitor. Instead, he had had to walk through the narrow mine entrance at gunpoint, alongside Mitchell and the Argonians, all of them hapless new workers destined to labour in the dirty, suffocating tunnels until they died of exhaustion or malnourishment.

Or in Daniel's case, until he was shot along with Gaion, when the injured Argonian would no longer be able to work.

Leaning his primitive drill against the wall for a second, Daniel couldn't help a worried look at the Argonian leader, who was shuffling stiffly back and forth between a pile of boulders and a large metal cart. The wound on his shoulder was still bleeding, and had soaked through the makeshift bandage.

"Guess that puts a deadline on our grand escape plan." Working beside him and already covered in dust head to toe, Mitchell picked up on his train of thought.

"Yeah, about that…" As one guard's angry gaze stopped on him, Daniel pretended to pick at a particularly hard piece of rock. "Any ideas? Because I'm not seeing a lot of exit signs."

"That Tel'tak looked like it had a couple of staff cannons on it. We can fight our way to it, and use its weapons to take care of the rest of our buddies here." The colonel picked up a large boulder and tossed it in another nearby cart. "Then we'll load the Argonians onto those cargo ships outside, and fly them back home…"

"Uh, okay…even though there's only two of us and thirty of them between us and the Tel'tak…"

"We'll sneak out at night…or whenever they let us stop," he amended, realizing how unlikely it was that the unwilling workers got regular eight-hour shifts. "I'll try to do some recon before that, see who's guarding the ship and if there's an easy way to get on board."

"I'd offer to come with you, but I think I'm a little too popular…"

From the corner of his eye, Mitchell noticed that all the guards in their section of the tunnel stared at Daniel and Gaion the way that hungry hyenas stared at an injured gazelle. "Guess you're the evening's entertainment."

"Lucky me," the archaeologist deadpanned, and attacked the thick layer of rock again.

Suddenly, a loud boom came from outside the mine. The walls shook, sending clouds of dust raining down on the bedraggled workers.

"That's the second time that happens." Daniel coughed out some of the dust he'd inhaled, and mentally wished for a box of tissues. "Could be mining explosions, but it sounds like it's coming from the surface…"

"Maybe we're getting really bad weather."

Another boom followed closely after the first. The newest workers were startled, but the ones who had been there longer, as well as the guards, barely acknowledged the noise and the rain of dust.

"Maybe someone's attacking the planet," Daniel suggested, trying to hold back a sneeze. "That could work out for us…enemy of my enemy, that kind of thing?"

Mitchell shook his head. "The way our luck's been going, it'd be someone who hates our guts even more."

"Wow, now I know things are bad, if even _you're_ getting fatalistic."

The colonel shot him a wry sideways glance. "Don't tell the others. I've got a reputation to maintain."

A few yards away, Gaion suddenly fell to his knees with a cry of pain, and gripped his injured shoulder.

Daniel rushed over to him, as did several of the nearby Argonians. They helped the man up, but he seemed to need all their support just to keep standing. Among those holding him up was the young Ulan, who turned to Daniel with a heated look in his teary eyes.

"This is all your fault," he whispered angrily.

The archaeologist ignored him, and tried to readjust the bandage on Gaion's shoulder. The guards jeered.

"Looks to me like your time's up," one of them laughed. "Old man can't work anymore!"

Another discharged his weapon right at their feet, causing several Argonians to jump back in fright, which only made the guards laugh harder.

"Just keep going a little longer," Daniel whispered to Gaion as he tightened the bandage. "We've got a plan to get everyone out of here…you just need to hang in there for another few hours…" His tone reflected far more confidence than he actually felt.

"That's right, keep him going," another guard cheered, "my money's on him making it 'til dawn! Won't make a penny if he drops dead before that!"

"That's why you're always broke," the first guard mocked, "look at him, he's got a few hours left in him, tops."

As the armed men continued to taunt them, the archaeologist caught Mitchell's eyes, and the two exchanged an anxious look. Then, with the guards distracted by the faltering Gaion, the colonel slowly stepped back into the tunnel and disappeared from sight.

Daniel hoped his recon would go well, because as he helped Gaion back to the pile of boulders and watched him painstakingly pick up one of the smaller ones, he had to agree with the guards: the man did not look like he had a lot of time left. And his own clock was ticking at the same alarming rate.


	10. Power Play (2), pt 2

**Power Play (2), pt. 2**

"Damn it."

Sam's whisper was meant only for herself, but colonel Davidson's seat was close enough that he heard it. The man turned to give her a questioning glance.

"The speed upgrades on those cargo ships left behind a gamma-band particle trail," she told him, "and I've reconfigured our sensors to detect it and reconstruct the ship's course. But I've been tracking the particle decay rate over the past few hours, and the sensors just registered another abrupt shift in the amount of active particles. The trail could disperse completely within minutes." Sam looked up from the computer screen, the same pleading look in her eyes. "We need to go after those ships now, or we might not be able to find them again."

Davidson shook his head, his expression conflicted. "I already contacted the President's office, Colonel Carter, and explained the new circumstances. You know as well as I that we're not going anywhere until he reaches a decision."

"That was two hours ago!" Her frustration had only increased with every minute that the _Odyssey_ was forced to wait idly. "We can't afford to wait while the President and the IOA debate this. If the particle field disperses, we won't be able to track the cargo ships."

"Please don't take this the wrong way," Marcus Johnson said calmly, "but perhaps that would be for the best. Once we have no way of tracking the ships, there will be no more incentive to blatantly disobey orders." He gave her an almost sympathetic glance. "The IOA won't give their permission to risk the _Odyssey_ for your insubordinate team mates, Colonel Carter, I'm sorry. And this time," he predicted, "the President will agree with them. I was in the room when this mission was discussed the first time, and I can tell you that Mr. Hayes went about as far as he was willing to go just by allowing you to come this far for some ill-advised humanitarian effort."

"This kind of 'ill-advised humanitarian effort' is exactly why the Asgard gave us their technology in the first place," Sam replied with an angry look. "And if you weren't more interested in having your way than in helping those people, we could've defeated those ships hours ago and found out how to retrieve the kidnapped Argonians!"

"It's not _my way_, Colonel Carter. The IOA knew that if your team flew this ship all the way here, you'd want to use it in battle, and the _Odyssey_ is just too important to risk. That's why they tried to prevent this in the first place."

Sam started to reply, but an alert sound on her screen drew her attention. Her eyes widened.

"The gamma-band trace is disintegrating! Ian –" She trailed off and stared at the computer screen in dismay. "It's too late. The particle levels have fallen below the detectable threshold." She took a deep breath, and met Davidson's eyes as she spoke the next words: "Our sensors won't be able to reconstruct the ships' course." Her gaze held an unspoken accusation. "We've lost them."

The _Odyssey_ commander gritted his teeth, his expression tormented.

Johnson let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, but like I said, it's probably for the best that…"

"No we haven't." Vala stood up from the station she had been sitting at, and marched over to the pilot's station. "We don't need to know their course," she looked over her shoulder to Sam, "we just need to know where they went." She turned to Marks. "Somewhere in your advanced Asgard computers, there's a map of this quaint little corner of the galaxy, isn't there?"

"Uhm…yes Ma'am," the major replied, a little flustered.

Johnson walked up to her. "What are you doing?"

Vala took a step back. "I'm trying to help." She faced Davidson and spoke quickly, before the IOA representative could say anything else. "Arsalan said that the ships have been coming every few days, which means that they're travelling far enough that they can't just go back and forth continuously, but close enough that there isn't another vulnerable system on the way that they could raid instead."

"I don't see how that's relevant –"

"_My_ guess is," she continued over Johnson, though she did spare the man an anxious glance, "their destination is anywhere between eight and fifteen hours away, give or take. Any longer, and it wouldn't be worth to come all the way here. Any shorter, and they'd come more often." She turned back to Major Marks. "If I give you an estimate of how fast those cargo ships can go, can you make this map show us a range of possible destinations?"

"I think so," the pilot nodded.

Within a minute he had projected a map on one of the larger screens. Several sections of the map were highlighted. "There are…twenty-seven candidate systems."

"Eighteen of them have no habitable planets, so we can rule those out." Sam's voice sounded animated again, as she checked the Asgard databases for further information. "Three of them have planets with stargates…we've visited two in the past, and the Asgard have intel on the third…none of them really fit the profile." With a few taps on her keyboard, she changed the map on the screen so that it now highlighted only a few systems. "That leaves six options."

Vala walked closer to the screen and studied the map and the system names for a long moment, frowning in concentration. Then she tapped three of the systems with her finger.

"It's one of these." She turned to face them again. "They're all close to the outer edges of Lucian Alliance territories. That's where all up-and-coming hotshots and wannabe leaders get their start. Try to expand business, make some easy money, impress the Lucian higher-ups… then once they've made enough money running some shady enterprise on the outskirts of Alliance territories, they can move on to bigger projects in better locations."

"This is ridiculous." Johnson took another step in her direction, and Vala instinctively leaned back and away from him. "I don't know what your game is, but you can't actually think we'd be foolish enough to deliver our most important ship straight to the Lucian Alliance!"

"No, I think Vala's right." Sam was still reading from the screen. "The Asgard have almost no information on those systems, because they seem to be mostly uninhabited and were too far out of the way to be seriously threatened by the Goa'uld. So out of the way, in fact, that they'd be ideal locations for running any sort of fishy get-rich-quick scheme that involves kidnapping innocent people."

Davidson nodded. "I agree." There were silent nods from the others on the bridge, as well.

The IOA rep, however, did not agree in the least.

"This ship, with its advanced upgrades, carries the future of our entire _planet_! It's a prize everyone in this galaxy would _kill_ for, and you'd trust _her_ to tell you where to take it? Not too long ago she tried to steal the _Prometheus_!"

"_Tried_?" Vala sounded offended.

"She has no standing to advise you on anything! I don't know why she's still around now that the Ori are gone, but for all we know, she could be trying to lead us into a trap and serve the _Odyssey_ to the Lucians on a silver platter!"

Vala crossed her arms and gave the IOA representative a dark glare.

* * *

Mitchell flattened himself against the stone wall and held his breath as a pair of armed men walked right past his improvised hiding place. Luckily, his face and his clothes were so grimy from his hours in the mine that they blended right into the background, and he escaped unnoticed. As soon as the men were gone, he quickly made his way to the next rocky outcrop that looked like it could hide him.

From there, he had a clear view of the Tel'tak and the large cargo ship next to it. There were some markings etched onto the side of the ships; he had not seen them from a distance, but close up they looked familiar. After a second, he realized why – he had seen similar markings on Netan's ship.

"Lucians," he muttered. "Great." He and Jackson had probably stumbled right into one of their operations. The Lucian Alliance wasn't above kidnapping peaceful people and forcing them to mine naquadah.

Luckily, it seemed like it was a small operation, so hopefully there weren't any more ships out there ready to back up the Lucians on the planet. Cam continued to eye the Tel'tak, noticing that there were only two men guarding it, and they looked completely relaxed. For good reason, too – the Argonians were hardly the type to hijack their captors' ship.

For the tenth time, he pulled out his radio. "_Odyssey_, this is Mitchell, do you copy?" He waited for a second, then tried again. "Hello? Can anyone read me?"

There was no response, and he put the radio away with a sigh. He had not really been hoping for a reply, but it couldn't hurt to try…

He used the next few minutes to take in more of his surroundings. The rundown wooden shacks they had seen when they had first landed seemed to be where the workers slept – probably dozens of them crowded together, as there were only three shacks, and he had counted almost one hundred and fifty Argonians. There were also a few tents scattered around the rocky field, most of them away from the noisy, dusty mine entrances, which led Cam to believe that was where the guards ate and slept. Camp fires burnt in front of some of the tents, and next to almost each of them were barrels of what he assumed must have been some alcoholic beverage.

Overall, the operation did not seem too secure or well-organized. The Lucians he had met before had been heartless bandits and profiteers, yes, but they had had some semblance of discipline or training. These men, however, with the exception of one or two leaders, seemed to be common thugs. Mitchell assumed they must be the lowest tier that the Alliance employed, and probably only used for the less important operations.

Which suited _him_ great. It was usually easier to get the upper hand on brawny, untrained goons. And trouble with a small operation would hopefully draw less attention from the better trained, better armed higher-ups. Although, knowing who those higher-ups were would probably be useful in the future... Cam recalled that one of the guards had mentioned a name, but much as he tried he could not remember what the name was. Jackson probably remembered it.

He filed the question away for later and turned his attention back to the Tel'tak. It sat a good few hundred yards from the mine, in an open field, which made it difficult to get to unseen. They would have to try it at night. But other than the obstacle of reaching the vessel undetected, Mitchell did not anticipate any problems with overpowering the two guards and making it on board. Then he could fire on the tents, which were conveniently placed a good distance away from the prisoner's wooden shacks, lowering the risk that he would accidentally hit any Argonians.

Of course, there were still Lucians roaming the field away from the tents, and the ones who guarded the workers in the mine. He would have to come up with a way to keep the Argonians safe from the remaining guards… but even with that obstacle, the plan still seemed feasible. The Tel'tak made a good weapon, and it was so poorly watched that it would be easy to get it. For the first time, he began to see some hope. Maybe he and Jackson could pull this off after all.

"Just a walk in the park…" he muttered to himself. "Only the park's crawling with armed Lucians."

Carefully, Mitchell retreated back toward the base of the rock wall. About halfway there, however, he noticed a small group of Lucians heading away from the main camp. As they walked around the rocky outcrops and out of his field of vision, he hesitated for a moment. Then he changed his path and followed them, trying to stay low and as out of sight as possible.

A couple of minutes later, he turned the last corner that they had, and was greeted with a surprising sight. About a quarter of a mile away from the main camp was another structure, this one far larger, more well-built and sturdy looking. Judging by the numerous empty mining carts outside it, Cam concluded it must have been some sort of processing facility, where the naquadah was presumably turned into the ingots that the Lucian Alliance seemed to favour as common currency in their financial dealings. He should have imagined that a mining operation would have that component, as well.

What concerned him, however, was the large structure next to the processing facility, connected to the latter via a series of large pipes.

Mitchell may not have been a space pirate, or a brilliant scientist like Sam, but he could tell a weapon when he saw one. And the large, cylindrical metal structure with a diameter that narrowed from base to tip, and with an array of moving parts that allowed it to shift along several axes and at any angle…looked very much like a weapon.

"It's never easy..." he muttered.

Alright, so the Lucians had some sort of fancy weapon…that did not have to change the plan of action. As far as Cam could tell, the weapon had no direct angle on the main camp, so he could still take the Tel'tak and blow up the guards' tents, and maybe once he did that, he could take a quick tour behind the rock wall and blow up this weapon, too…

He was just deciding to do that, when the moving parts near the tip began to spin, aligned and fell into place, and with a build-up of bright-blue energy that started at the base of the cylinder and made its way to the top, the weapon fired a concentrated energy blast into the cloudy sky.

The deafening boom that followed sent Cam to his knees, but the Lucians near the weapon cheered. Within seconds, they released another blast, that followed the first. All the clouds in the surrounding area had dispersed after the impact.

His hands pressed against his ears, Mitchell watched the weapon fire a third time, and this time he could almost follow the immensely powerful blast as it made its way into the sky…and probably out of the atmosphere.

"Oh crap." This was worse than he had thought. The Lucians had some sort of surface-to-space naquadah weapon.

* * *

" –don't plan to spend the rest of this trip repeating myself. The orders are clear, we're not going into enemy territory." Johnson had chosen a seat at one of the unmanned consoles, and was now facing the rest of the _Odyssey_ bridge crew with a stony expression. "The President hasn't sent a message back yet, which can only mean that he has _not_ approved your request to charge after Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson. So our orders stand, we're to avoid any hostile confrontation at all costs."

"Things are different now! Two of our people are missing!" The anxiety over what had happened to her friends made even the usually calm Sam sound incensed. "We have the resources to go after them, we even have a good idea of where they are, and we don't leave our own behind!"

"They went against my recommendations, knowing full well that we wouldn't be able to follow. We're not leaving _them_ behind, they left _us_ behind!"

"They didn't leave us, we were supposed to beam them back to the _Odyssey_ after they took over the ship! Something must've gone wrong since we lost the emergency beacon signals within minutes!"

"As far as I know, Colonel, this could all be some scheme you and Colonel Mitchell orchestrated to force our hand and have the _Odyssey_ go after them."

"What? That's crazy!" While it did take a lot for Sam to get angry, once she crossed that threshold, she was not pulling any punches. "I don't care what your authority is or what your orders say, two of SGC's best people are out there and we're going after them!"

Johnson arched his eyebrows with a condescending expression. "If I may remind you, Colonel Carter, you're not in command of this ship."

Davidson silently tapped his steepled fingers, his expression forbidding. "I'm inclined to agree with the Colonel. The parameters of the mission have changed. We're not just on some humanitarian quest anymore, the lives of two of our own people are at stake."

"The most important asset of our fleet is at stake," the IOA rep countered. "And at the end of the day, commander, this is a non-issue. You have your orders, signed by the President. He's your supreme commander, and when you were placed in command of this vessel, you agreed to follow those orders." He crossed his arms and gave Davidson a challenging look. "And now you're trying to negotiate with me how to best weasel your way out of doing so. Orders are orders, Colonel Davidson, isn't that what you always say in the military?"

"You're overstepping your boundaries, Mr. Johnson," the colonel warned, his voice deceptively calm. "When I took you on board this ship, I trusted that your intentions were straightforward, but nearly every single word out of you has, in my opinion as commander, been against the best interest of this ship and its crew."

The man seemed unfazed by the ever so subtle accusation. "On the contrary, the safety of this ship, and by extension its crew, are my number one priority. I question what _your_ priority is, given how much you seem to want to take our most valued asset straight into Lucian Alliance territory on the advice of a...questionable source."

Vala tapped her foot angrily against the metal floor. The rest of the people on the bridge followed the exchange tensely, their eyes moving from the colonel to the IOA rep as the dialogue became more and more loaded.

"Careful, Mr. Johnson. As you pointed out earlier, I _am_ in command of this ship, and I don't like your tone."

"I agree with Marcus Johnson."

Teal'c's sudden statement left most of the bridge crew slack-jawed. Even the IOA rep had a hard time believing what he had just heard, although he tried his best to hide it behind a self-important cough.

"Erm –thank you, Teal'c."

The Jaffa inclined his head with a gracious smile. "I do believe that Colonel Davidson's priorities truly do not serve the best interests of this vessel."

Johnson crossed his arms and gave the _Odyssey_'s commander a satisfied look. "Perhaps you will reconsider your standpoint now, Colonel. Even Teal'c thinks you should."

"I certainly question Colonel Davidson's command decisions," the Jaffa confirmed openly. "In fact, I agree with your earlier statement."

The IOA rep nodded smugly.

"You are correct, I am indeed more experienced and more knowledgeable about the _Odyssey_," Teal'c continued.

Johnson's superior expression wavered slightly, as the man became confused.

"I would therefore like to accept your offer to assume command of this vessel, immediately," the Jaffa finished.

Johnson's face fell. "Wha –" He met Davidson's smouldering glare. "I don't –"

"Did you offer command of this vessel to Teal'c, Mr. Johnson?"

"No!"

The Jaffa tilted his head, in apparent surprise. "Did you not inform me several hours ago that the final senior crew has not yet been selected, and that should I wish it, I would receive command of the _Odyssey_?"

"I – I didn't mean – I meant _hypothetically_!" The man's earlier composure was gone, as he found himself flustered under the sharp gazes of everyone on the bridge.

"And I believe you did say that I was the most qualified person to command this vessel," Teal'c informed him pleasantly. "A most valid observation."

"I – just because he spent fifty years on it, I just meant he had the most knowledge about it!" Marcus Johnson gestured wildly, trying to explain. "I wasn't offering…"

Davidson crossed his arms and leaned forward in his seat. "Did you say to Teal'c that he was better suited for command and should be in charge of this ship?"

"No – I – not _that_ way –" He took a deep breath, and seemed to regain his composure. "This is all a misunderstanding."

"Did you tell Teal'c that he could, and should, take command of the _Odyssey_?"

Johnson's composure dissolved again. "No! I didn't…" he saw the Jaffa's calm expression. "It's not what I meant, it was all a hypothetical discussion…"

Davidson stood up from the command seat.

"Gentlemen." He nodded to the two security men standing by the door. "Please escort Mr. Johnson to his quarters."

The IOA rep also jumped to his feet. "You can't do this, I have the President's –"

"Another word from you, Mr. Johnson, and you'll spend the rest of this trip in the brig for attempted mutiny."

"Attemp –_what_?"

"Mutiny," Davidson enunciated slowly, as he walked toward the man. "I believe that's _what we say_ in the military when someone proposes an unauthorized change of command on a military ship during an ongoing mission."

The IOA rep opened his mouth, but was unable to find words.

With an utterly humourless grin, Davidson nodded again to the two airmen. "His quarters it is, then. Make sure he stays there."

As soon as the bridge door hissed shut behind the three men, the colonel sat back down in his command seat. "Alright Major Marks, plot a course for the nearest of those three systems, and let's get our men back. And if we're attacked, be ready for some serious evasive manoeuvres, people…because if a single shot hits this ship, our careers are going down with it."

* * *

**As always, many thanks to the rest of the VS team: Myosotis, SC and Tel nok shock, who are awesome and supportive and wonderful. And thanks to everyone reading and reviewing this story - we love hearing from you! **


	11. Power Play (2), pt 3

**Thanks everyone for reading! And to those of you who reviewed - Teal'c is certainly feeling the love after last chapter. Every single of you had a pat on the back for him ;-)**

**Power Play (2), pt. 3**

Daniel scratched listlessly at the wall with a blunt pick-axe, sighing as Ulan bumped into him yet again on his way to the mining cart. The boy was making it no secret that he was utterly disappointed in the best that 'Thor's warriors' had to offer… and Daniel could not really blame him. So far, other than an admirable, and admirably useless, readiness to go down with the rest of the Argonians, he and Mitchell had been absolutely zero help.

The rest of the team even less, although, he knew, not through any fault of their own, but because they were stuck on the _Odyssey_ much as he and Mitchell were stuck on this planet.

When Ulan glared again on his way back from the cart, Daniel finally had to say something. "Look, I get it, you're angry," he kept his voice low so the guards wouldn't hear, "but we're not giving up, okay? We'll get everyone out of this."

The boy's only response was a derisive huff, and he pushed his way past Daniel to his own work spot.

Before Daniel could stop him, there was a loud thump from behind him, and he turned just in time to see Gaion slide down the wall, the rock he had been carrying rolling out of his hands.

When two Argonians tried to walk over to help, one of the guards discharged his weapon at their feet, causing them to jump back. Ulan rushed forward, but two more of his own people restrained him.

"Told you he wouldn't make it to dawn!" The same guard from earlier strolled toward the group of workers with a large grin. "Pay up!"

"He ain't dead yet!" another guard countered, and kicked Gaion hard. The man groaned, but did not get up.

"Stop!" Daniel shoved him away from the injured Argonian, and was not entirely surprised to find himself at the business end of a weapon. "Leave him alone!"

"Boss said to shoot 'em when the old one drops," the third guard pointed out. "I saw we shoot 'em then."

"Time's up," grinned the first guard, and aimed his weapon at Gaion's prone form.

Daniel hit the guard closest to him with a hard punch to the jaw, which sent the man to the floor and knocked the weapon out of his grip. There was a brief moment of stunned silence, as the other two Lucians had not expected one of their meek prisoners to fight back. Daniel took advantage of their confusion to pull out his Zat, and shoot one of them down. He had to jump out of the way, however, as the other one quickly recovered, and sent a barrage of energy blasts his way. Fortunately, the Argonians had scattered to the sides of the tunnel, as far away from the fight as they could.

_Un_fortunately, it took very little for the guard to realize he could use them as leverage. As he shouted for help, he pulled one of the nearby Argonians in front of him as a shield.

"Put your weapon down or he dies! And then I'll shoot the rest of 'em!"

Daniel gritted his teeth. Seeing no other course of action, he slowly lowered his Zat, and placed it on the ground in front of him.

"Smart move." Immediately, the Lucian aimed his weapon at Daniel, and fired.

At the last second, the Argonian he had been holding as a human shield knocked his arm aside, causing the weapon's blast to miss Daniel by a foot or more. The guard retaliated by hitting the Argonian hard and shoving him to the floor, but by the time he could bring his weapon up again, Daniel had retrieved his Zat. The archaeologist managed to squeeze off a shot just in time, and the guard dropped to the ground.

The noise from the fight, however, had drawn guards from other sections of the mine, and shouts of alarm and threats echoed along the tunnel walls.

"We need to get out of here." He directed the Argonians toward one branch in the tunnel that seemed quiet. "That way, quickly!" Two of them helped Gaion up, and they all rushed further down the tunnel, with Daniel bringing up the rear and ducking as best as he could from the stray energy blasts that flew over their heads.

* * *

When he heard shots coming from inside the mine, Mitchell knew they were out of time. He only hoped at least some of those shots were fired by Jackson.

He rushed to the nearest mine entrance, and stopped one of the Argonian workers who was scrambling away from the sound of the fight. "You need to get as many of your people as you can to a safe place. Run far away from here, stay together, we'll come get you when this is all over."

The man looked terrified. "Who are you?"

"Uh – we work for Thor," Mitchell improvised, and was glad to see the Argonian's eyes widen in awe. "Okay go, stay close to the ground, take shelter if you can – and don't go anywhere near those ships or the tents!"

He did not wait to see if the man was listening, and rushed inside the mine. The tunnels were dark, some of the lights having been knocked out by the mass of panicked workers. Energy shots flew everywhere. "Go, the exit's that way, get away from the mine!" He helped as many people out as he could, and even Zatted a guard or two, but eventually he realized he could not get to Daniel in the chaos.

"Jackson!" He tried the radio. After all, the two of them were definitely within range. "This is Mitchell, do you read?"

"_I think our cover's blown!_" The other man sounded out of breath, and the radio signal was bad. "_We're making our way deeper into the mine, and I don't think there's a good way out at this point!_"

The colonel swore. "I'll go for the Tel'tak. Can you hold them off that long?"

"_I can _try."

"I'll take out as many as I can with the Tel'tak, then I'm coming after you," he promised. "Mitchell out."

He ran back to the tunnel entrance, and took a second to evaluate the situation. The field was a sea of motion, with Argonians in dirty robes running to and fro in panic, and the black-clad Lucians shooting randomly and shouting for order. Much to his dismay, a group of guards were also headed for the Tel'tak, and Cam realized he had to beat them there, or fight them all.

That was easier said than done. He was shot at several times as he cut across the field, and one of the blasts charred the edges of his tunic, although luckily it mostly missed his flesh. He ignored the slight tug in his shoulder from the burn, and pushed forward. Several times he lost sight of the Tel'tak entirely, as he was bumped, shoved and shot at yet again. Screaming Argonians still filed out of the mine, and he did not think Jackson and the people with him had much of a chance holding off a band of armed Lucians in a dead-end mine tunnel with just a Zat.

He could not even begin to imagine what he would do once he got to the Tel'tak. The crowd was all mixed together now, although he hoped the Argonians would take his advice and run for the hills. At the very least, he could try to shoot up an alternative exit for Jackson. Or get rid of the naquadah weapon.

Either way, the odds of rescuing the Argonians and making it off the planet alive did not look good.

He was still several hundred yards away from the Tel'tak, and having difficulty advancing through the stampeding people and the barrage of weapons fire, when he heard his radio go off again.

"_Colonel Mitchell, this is the _Odyssey_, do you read us?_"

He stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.

* * *

"Sir, our sensors are reading the emergency transport beacons again!" Major Marks looked up from his station, his expression filled with enthusiasm. "The signal's coming from the second moon of that gas giant!"

"There's some sort of construction on the surface, but we're too far to clearly read life signs." Sam calibrated the sensors and took a closer look. "I _am_ reading massive amounts of naquadah."

"Probably a mine," Vala opined. "The Lucians trade in naquadah. Having an off-the-books mine would make any aspiring nobody into a very rich man, very quickly."

"And it would explain why they've been kidnapping the Argonians, free labour can't be easy to come by. We're within radio range." Her voice held an anxious note as Sam activated the communications system. "Colonel Mitchell, this is the _Odyssey_, do you read us?"

The only response was static. She clenched her fists, and tried again.

"This is the _Odyssey_. Cam, do you copy? Daniel? Anyone? I repeat, this is –"

"_Holy mother of all, now _that's_ what I call timing._"

Sam's face broke into a relieved grin.

"_Odyssey, this is Mitchell, do you read?_" There was still static on the line, and they could hear weapons fire in the background. "_Don't come anywhere near –_" A burst of static obscured his next words. " –_sort of reverse Death Star situation going on here_."

Davidson frowned. "Colonel, this is Davidson. Can you repeat?"

More static, followed by more weapons fire.

"Colonel, we're preparing to transport you and Dr. Jackson back to the Odyssey –"

"_No_! _They'll kill all the_ – _nians – get to a safe place and you can – all on board._"

"Cam, this is Sam, we're having trouble reading you clearly."

The only response was silence.

"I repeat, this is Sam, are you still there?"

Nothing.

"We need to go down there." Having fully geared up in advance, Vala walked up to Davidson's command seat. "Transport us to their position."

"I can't send you in the middle of a combat zone with no idea of what to expect."

"_Odyssey, this is Jackson,_" through the speaker they could hear Daniel's transparent attempt to keep the tone light despite the situation,"_we could really use some back-up here if you're not too busy_."

Vala arched her eyebrows at the ship's commander. "Okay, _now_ can we go down there?"

* * *

Mitchell muttered a string of swears as he ran the last thirty yards or so to the Tel'tak. He wasn't sure that the _Odyssey_ had heard his warning about the planet-to-space naquadah weapon, and a Lucian had attacked him before he had had the chance to repeat himself. He had finally knocked he man out cold, but his radio had been damaged in the fight. He had had no option but to keep going for the Tel'tak, and hope that he could use that to communicate with the ship.

But the Lucians must have had their own communication system, because by now they seemed to have caught on to his presence. By the time he was near the Tel'tak, he was welcomed with energy blasts from about half a dozen different weapons. The hatch door to the ship was closed now, too. Not that it made much of a difference, given that he was likely to be fried alive before making it anywhere near the door.

He jumped out of the way of another energy blast, and fired back blindly with the Zat. As Teal'c had predicted, he was sadly outnumbered and outgunned. He rolled on the ground, trying to make a smaller, more difficult target of himself, and shot back a few more times. But with no places to take cover, things were not looking good. He felt a brief pain in his leg as yet another energy blast hit too close to home.

The Lucians attacking him were getting brave, now that they saw him on the ground and with no hope of escape. They came out from behind the Tel'tak, and when he tried to run back into the relative safety of the crowd in the field, one of them caught him with a blast to the side that burned far worse than the two near-misses before it.

Cam dropped back to the ground with a painful grunt, but within seconds he caught himself and rolled over, determined that he would at least take one more of the bastards out with him.

One more was exactly the number he had the chance to shoot, but only because the others were already lying prone on the ground. His head snapped up in surprise as a hand extended toward him from seemingly nowhere.

"Told you I should've come with you," Vala grinned.

* * *

Daniel fired a few shots from his Zat around the corner, then quickly retreated back to safety. About ten times as many shots came in return, and he was forced to peek out again and fire some more.

What he saw during the brief moment that he dared to look around the corner did not reassure him. There was a group of at least seven or eight guards, and they were close enough to overrun him and the Argonians with him within less than a minute.

Worse yet, they had hit a dead end. There was exactly one more turn in the tunnel behind him, and then a narrow space and a solid rock wall, where all the Argonians currently huddled together, offering each other mutual support against their hopeless panic.

Belatedly, he wished he had taken them out of the mine. Then the _Odyssey_ could have beamed them all to safety. As it was, they were too far underground for the beacons to work well, let alone the radios. Of course, when the fight had first started, he had had no idea that the _Odyssey_ was coming for them. Ironic, really, that he and Mitchell had been so certain they were on their own, only to have the rest of the team come to their rescue…and be too late.

He fired a few last shots at the oncoming attackers (the energy blasts that came in return were closer than before), before taking off for the last turn in the tunnel. A second later, he heard his previous position being overrun, and he had to stop around the corner and fire again, buying himself another few seconds, for all the good that that would do…

Out of nowhere, it occurred to him that if Jack were there instead of him, he could have probably taken out all the attackers with a few well-aimed Zat shots.

"Should've paid more attention when you lectured me on how to aim properly," he muttered to himself and an absent Jack O'Neill.

Actually, Jack would've probably gotten rid of the attackers ten tunnel corners ago, instead of allowing himself to be backed into a corner like a rookie.

The energy blasts came flying again, this time in a constant stream. There was nowhere left to run.

Daniel positioned himself in front of the group of terrified Argonians, and held up his Zat. "Stay behind me," he shouted, over the increasingly loud weapons fire…

…actually, the surprisingly loud weapons fire. There hadn't been that many shots before, Daniel was sure of it. And if the guards had gotten reinforcements, why weren't they rushing around the corner already?

Besides, the sounds he was hearing did not resemble the energy weapons blast. In fact, it sounded more like...

One of the guards did turn the corner then, and he was so surprised to see that it was a dead end, that he hesitated just long enough for Daniel to Zat him. He picked up the man's gun, and carefully peaked around the corner once more…

…only to be greeted by the sight of Sam and Teal'c finishing the last two of the guards.

The Jaffa then marched over to him. "You required assistance, Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel grinned.


	12. Power Play (2), pt 4

**Huge thanks to SC and Myosotis, who co-wrote large parts of this chapter, and to our beta Tel nok shock, who's always patiently reading over our latest creations. And of course thanks to all of you out there reading this and sending your feedback. **

**Power Play (2), pt. 4**

"Okay, we're ready for you to beam us back."

"No we're not," Mitchell argued.

Vala sighed and activated her radio again. "Correction, it seems we would like to spend some more time being shot at by Lucians. Please stand by." She arched an eyebrow at the colonel. "Would you like me to find you a few more of them who can you use for target practice?"

He waved a dismissive hand at the injury in his side. "It's not as bad as it looks. We need to get the rest of those Lucians away from the Argonians, or they'll just keep shooting people at random."

"I can do that. _You_ go back to the ship and stop bleeding all over that fashionable tunic."

"Yeah, not gonna happen." He struggled to take a few steps, and was glad to notice that as long as he did not lean too much weight on his injured side, it was only minimally agonizing. "Besides, someone needs to blow up that weapon, and I think the Tel'tak's our best chance at that."

Vala just stared at him. "What weapon?"

"The one that fires big balls of flaming naquadah into the sky, remember…?" Mitchell's face fell as he took in her baffled expression. "Please tell me you heard my warning about the…" He trailed off. "The _Odyssey_ isn't _in orbit_, is it? Crap." He stumbled over to her and grabbed the radio, while she propped him up by the shoulder. "Davidson, this is Mitchell! You need to leave orbit now! They've got a –"

The deafening boom rang out across the shield.

"Damn it! _Odyssey_, get out of here!"

Another boom echoed loudly, and then a third one.

"Oh." Vala bit her lips as she stared at the massive energy blasts tearing through the sky. "_That_ weapon. Yeah…we didn't know about that."

* * *

Teal'c, Daniel and Sam made their way out of the mine, followed by a few dozen Argonians. The field outside had become a little quieter, now that most of the Lucians were either out of commission or had retreated. However, the frightened Argonians still milled about in panic, and some of the guards were still among them, shouting and making threats.

A loud booming sound came from behind the rock wall, and the three SG1 members exchanged a worried glance.

"We heard that periodically from inside the mine, too," said Daniel, "but I don' t know what it is."

"Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good. We need to gather the Argonians in one place, so the _Odyssey_ can transport them up." Sam held out a palm-sized device, with a pulsing red light at its centre. "I adapted a few of the beaming beacons to increase signal resolution and allow for mass transport, but it won't work for…" She looked around the mining camp, trying to estimate the number of people, "…a hundred and fifty of them at once. Our best chance is to split them into three groups."

"I don't know if they'll listen to us." Daniel sighed. "They're pretty terrified."

"I can help spread the word!" Ulan had been supporting Gaion, but now hurried forward. "I'm a fast runner, and I'm not scared!" Before any of them could refuse, he was already preparing to dive into the crowd. "We'll get one group by the sleeping shacks!" he shouted, "and another by the large well!"

Daniel made a move to go after him.

"Let him." Gaion's voice sounded weak, but there was a note of cheerfulness to it. "The boy will do it…he will get people…organized." The man panted as he spoke, and leaned heavily against the two Argonians at his sides. "He is a…leader, even at his young age."

Another loud boom echoed across the field.

"That sounds like a weapon blast." Sam swept their surroundings with a worried gaze, but she could not pinpoint the location of the noise. "From a really large weapon. We need to get these people out of here as fast as possible." She reached for her radio. "_Odyssey_, this is Colonel Carter. We're almost ready to transport three large groups of Argonians on board."

"_Colonel, this is Major Marks. We're taking fire from the surface!_" Another roaring noise erupted all around them. "_We can't beam you on board while we're engaged in evasive manoeuvres!_"

"_We're on it, Odyssey_." Mitchell's voice came through the radio. "_There's some sort of naquadah weapon in their back yard, Vala and I are flying the Tel'tak over to get rid of it for you_."

Sam's eyes widened. "Wait!" Another rumble from the weapon caused the ground beneath them to shake slightly. "This is Carter. You can't fire on the weapon directly!" she cried into the radio. "If it's really shooting concentrated bursts of naquadah at this kind of range, and you try to blow it up, the explosion could destroy this entire area!"

There was a short silence, then…

"_Let me get this straight. We can't blow up this thing while you're still on the surface, but the Odyssey can't beam anyone back while the weapon's still firing burning balls of naquadah at them._" Mitchell's voice held the dry undertone that usually indicated his dissatisfaction. "_Alright, any bright ideas?_"

* * *

"_I_ have an idea."

Cam looked at Vala, who was giving him an impatient look from the pilot's chair on the Tel'tak. "Somehow, I'm scared to ask."

"We can't fire at the _weapon_, but that doesn't mean we can't fire at the people operating it. There must be a control room somewhere nearby that we can target. Or, we could try to deactivate the weapon manually. Or mess with its targeting system." She arched her eyebrows. "I know you Tau'ri tend to over-value your large guns and loud explosions, but there _are_ lots of ways to break things, besides blowing them up."

Mitchell sighed. Then, instead of replying, he reached for her radio again. "This is Mitchell. We'll take care of the weapon –_no explosions_," he promised, with a wry look at Vala. "You just get the Argonians ready for transport as soon as this thing stops firing."

"_Copy that_," came Sam's voice. "_Be careful_."

"Yup, you too. Mitchell out."

Pressing both hands against the sphere that served as the Tel'tak's main navigation system, Vala pushed the ship forward in the direction of the Lucians' surface-to-space weapon. Even through the ships' thick airtight bulkhead, they could hear the resounding booms as the naquadah energy blasts were fired at the _Odyssey_.

In less than a minute, they were within visual range. The weapon loomed ominously ahead, glowing bright blue as it charged and fired.

"That thing can't shoot at us, can it?"

"Probably not," Vala sounded unconcerned. "There." She pointed to a small metallic structure, annexed to the base of the cylinder that formed the weapon. "That must be the control room."

Suddenly, she brought the Tel'tak around in a sharp arc, angled it right above the small structure, and fired one of the front cannons before Mitchell could shout at her to be careful.

"Hm." She frowned as the blast from the Tel'tak's cannon hit an energy field, and dissipated a few feet above the control room. "They're shielded. Well that's just inconvenient." With a few quick commands, she armed all the ship's weapon upgrades.

"_Whoa_ –"

Before Cam could stop her, she sent all the force of a veritable artillery at the shield. But the shield held.

"Stop!" The colonel reached over and grabbed her hand before she could fire again, wincing as he strained his injured side. "Are you crazy, you could've blown the weapon!"

Vala looked affronted. "I've fired a ship's staff cannons before, Cameron, I know how to aim them."

"Well, given the circumstances, a little _extra_ care couldn't hurt," he retorted. "Besides, throwing everything at it still didn't break through that shield."

She frowned, listening for a moment, and hearing nothing. "At least they're not firing at the _Odyssey _anymore," she pointed out when no more blasts came.

Mitchell paused to listen as well. "Okay… good!"

But Vala's eyes suddenly widened. "Uh oh."

"_Not_ what I want to hear,_" _the colonel groaned.

The weapon was swiftly shifting on its axis, its tip angling closer the ground while its cylindrical bulk folded in on itself to become shorter and more manoeuvrable. Then it began to glow bright blue again.

"Hold on!" Vala yanked the Tel'tak abruptly to one side, as the weapon fired a large naquadah blast directly at them. They were too close to the ground to have a lot of room for movement, so she pulled up sharply, causing both of them to be flattened against the back of their chairs.

"I thought they couldn't fire at us!" Mitchell grabbed the armrest with one hand, while the other unconsciously gripped his injured side.

"I said, 'probably'!" She managed to avoid another blast by banking suddenly, but the force of the motion once again jostled the two of them to the point of throwing them out of their seats. Mitchell gritted his teeth against the pain.

"Get out of range," he hissed.

"No, then they'll just start firing on the _Odyssey_ again! I can get that control room!" She swung the ship around once more, and fired all weapons against the energy shield surrounding the base of the weapon.

"No!" Cam protested too late.

The shots just dissipated against the shield once more.

"Which part of 'no' –"

Vala veered abruptly to one side as another naquadah blast was sent their way in retaliation.

"_Damn it!_"Mitchell swore as he was banged against the console once more.

The Tel'tak went into a spiral trajectory, but Vala pulled out of it in time, and made a tight loop in the air, ignoring the jostles as she bombarded the shield with all that the Tel'tak had to offer.

The next naquadah blast caught them across the hull, sending the ship spinning. A shower of sparks rained down on the two of them, and a small fire erupted at the back of the cabin.

"Vala, get us out of here, that's an order!"

Her voice was hoarse from the tension. "No, I can –"

"_Now_!"

She was forced to yank them up once more, to keep the flailing Tel'tak from spiralling straight into the ground. More impacts rang against the already damaged hull, although none of them strong enough to have come from the naquadah weapon. They felt like fire from another ship's weapons, btu still they were enough to destabilize the Tel'tak's course even further. Vala let out an angry grunt as she tried, and failed, to get it back under control and move away from whoever was attacking them.

With an angry rap on the pilot's console, she released yet another stream of energy blasts at the shielded control room as the Tel'tak dove helplessly past it, then she thought she saw a burst of flames right before the world erupted in a flash of white, and something hard hit her back and knocked the breath out of her.

* * *

"We need a medic in here!"

"Reports from cargo deck and bay area –"

" –all the Argonians are accounted for."

" –missed us by miles –"

Vala groaned as she picked herself up from the floor, leaning against an unmanned console for support. A few feet away, Sam was helping Mitchell up.

"Sorry!" Major Marks gave them a horrified glance. "The Tel'tak must've crashed right as we grabbed you, and we were moving too fast to allow the transport beam to compensate for the kinetic energy!"

"Okay…next time, maybe try to beam us further from the walls," Cam muttered, leaning against Sam as his injured side protested. "It's fine, I'll deal with it later," he waved her off as she tried to poke at the bandage that Vala had helped with earlier, and he did the same to the medic who tried to take over. "Looks worse than it is."

"Good to have you back, Colonel." Davidson nodded from the command seat.

"Did we get that weapon?" Vala rasped.

Mitchell shot her an irritated glare. She met his eyes, then quickly looked aside, as they both knew that she had done exactly the opposite of what he had ordered back on the Tel'tak.

"Sensors read that the weapon's still active, but its last couple of shots have been way off." Marks checked his screen, then looked back at the rest of them. "I think you damaged its targeting system."

"Nicely done," Davidson congratulated, while Sam helped Mitchell into one of the seats. Vala had dropped into a free seat of her own accord, and gave Teal'c and Daniel a brief, anxious smile as they walked up to her.

"Sir, we've got incoming ships!" Marks projected the image of three cargo ships on one of the main screens. "They're arming weapons."

Cam grimaced. "Forgot about those."

"Get us out of here, Major." Davidson sounded dissatisfied to be running from a fight, but had no choice. "We already took half a dozen naquadah blasts to the ship I promised to bring back without a scratch," he grumbled, "let's not give the President a stroke."

They felt a slight jolt as the pilot performed evasive manoeuvres to avoid the cargo ships' weapons.

"Seriously, they're firing on us?" Sam shook her head. "We're ten times their size."

"Overconfident bastards," Davidson agreed.

"Sir, they're trying to surround us…" A second slight tug as the Odyssey dove out of the way of another salvo of weapons fire. "They're circling around…still trying to cut us off."

Suddenly, the ship jolted strongly as one of the cargo ships got a lucky shot in.

"Sir, they have us surrounded…"

Another energy blast hit against their hull.

"They're overconfident, alright." Sam slipped into the seat next to the pilot's, and called up the weapons controls.

Davidson nodded. "In for a penny…" He gripped the armrests of his command seat. "Let's remind the Lucians why they don't want to mess with us."

"Detecting their engines and weapons systems…" Sam tapped a few commands, then smiled. "That was easy."

"Weapons locked, Sir," Marks added.

"Go for it, Major. Fire to disable those ships."

There was a series of muffled rumbles as the _Odyssey_ weapons fired. On the screen, they could see one of the cargo ships take a heavy hit, while the second one veered to avoid most of it. Marks easily adjusted aim, and fired again. The third ship tried to return fire, and got off another few lucky shots before the _Odyssey_'s superior weapons disabled it as well.

"Their weapon systems are crippled, their engines are losing power, and shields are down," Marks reported. "Two of the ships are dead in the water."

"Good." Vala hopped off her seat and marched to the centre of the bridge. "Blow them up!"

"Wh – 'blow them up'?" Daniel fixed her with an incredulous look. "You just heard it, they can't hurt us."

"_Now_," she pointed out, "but if you don't destroy their ships, they can always come back later."

Still seated next to Davidson, Mitchell shook his head. "We just kicked their asses, they're not coming back for more."

"Yeah _and_," added Daniel, "we don't blow up defenceless ships. Even if…they _are_ Lucians…"

"They weren't defenceless ten minutes ago, they tried to kill all those innocent people and shot a naquadah weapon at us," Vala put her hands on her hips. "And now we can shoot back and send a message!"

"And…" Daniel nodded slowly "…what message would that be?"

"That we mean business!" She pointed emphatically at the screen, the lost her balance. Teal'c quickly grabbed her elbow to hold her up. "Thank you, Muscles. Now blow them up!"

Mitchell pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, Dirty Harry, I think you've got a concussion." He motioned for the medic and tilted his head in her direction.

Vala crossed her arms, still leaning against Teal'c.

"Right now, _all_ the planets that used to be under the Asgard's protection have been declared fair game," she spoke perhaps a little slower than usual. "And every aspiring hotshot, every dispossessed Goa'uld, every little crime lord out there with delusions of grandeur will have a go at them. So if you don't use this marvellous ship to send a very strong message _now_," she arched her eyebrows with an expression of absolute certainty, "you better prepare to get _a lot_ more emergency signals in the near future."

A brief silence followed her words. Mitchell and Carter exchanged a look, and the blonde gave a conceding kind of sideways nod. Daniel pressed his lips together and sighed, his expression thoughtful. Teal'c helped Vala to one of the chairs, so the medic could poke at her bruised forehead.

"Colonel Carter." It was Davidson who finally spoke. "You said that blowing up that weapon would destroy most of the surrounding area, including the mine?" When she nodded, he continued. "Are there any people left on that moon?"

"Sensors read about a dozen life signs. The rest must be on those cargo ships."

He leaned forward in his seat, and steepled his fingers. "Can we use the Asgard beam to put them all on _one_ ship...?"

* * *

Cries of joy filled the air as the Argonians who had been in the mine reunited with their loved ones. Children ran to hug their fathers, wives their husbands, and a middle-aged woman pulled Ulan in a fierce embrace, then pulled back to yell at him, before hugging him again.

"Thank you, thank you!" Arsalan's eyes shone with tears of joy as she took Sam's hands in hers. "The Great Thor has blessed us by sending you! You have brought our families back to us!"

Similar feelings echoed from all around. Ulan waved happily at them, still unable to untangle his arm from his mother's tight grip.

"Are we truly safe now?" One of the other women asked. "Will the ettins not come back?"

Daniel and Sam exchanged a glance. "Uh, probably not, we kinda…destroyed their camp and their most important weapon, and all but one of their ships…I'm thinking, they'll take the hint."

Everyone who heard his answer stared at them in awe.

"You are truly great warriors," Arsalan intoned.

"And if they do come back, we will help you once more to defeat them!" Ulan declared. His mother thumped him lightly over the head.

"Will we see you again?" Gaion, his arm in a sling and the colour back in his cheeks, walked over to their group. "Will you come visit us? You are always welcome."

The two SG1 members who had come down to the planet exchanged another glance.

"Yeah, about that…" Sam started. "We…might not be able to come here by ship again. But there's a device buried somewhere on your planet that would allow us to visit every now and then and check on you…"

The Argonians looked confused. "A device?"

"Kind of like…a portal…we call it a stargate," Sam explained. "We were able to detect where it was buried, and we would like to help you unbury it, so we can stay in contact if you ever need us again."

Most of the people looked pleased at the prospect, but a few remained cagey.

"What if more ettins come through this…star-gate?" one of them asked.

Sam nodded. "I'm…kind of working on a side project that should deal with that," she revealed, ignoring Daniel's questioning glance. "I think you'll be safe for a little while, at least. And if something does happen, you can always contact us again and we'll come back to help."

Again, all of the Argonians smiled and thanked the two of them profusely.

* * *

Sam was the last to sit down at the cafeteria table, and she took a small sip of her coffee.

"Isn't that your...fifth cup?" Mitchell sat across from her, leaning against the back of the chair so as to not strain his injured side. A sliver of a bandage was visible underneath his jacket.

"Third," she smiled. "Might as well enjoy the good coffee now…since we're probably never setting foot on the _Odyssey_ again."

"It's not _that_ banged up," the SG1 leader argued. "Those naquadah blasts barely scorched the hull."

She grimaced. "Try telling that to the President. Or the IOA."

A chorus of groans was the reaction to her last words.

"At least we could use it to help the Argonians this time," said Daniel. "Not to mention stop an illegal Lucian operation and … " he raised his eyebrows and gave an acknowledging nod to Vala, "send a message."

"Hopefully people will think twice before attacking another Asgard protectorate," Sam agreed.

"I think Thor would be happy," he concluded, and there were smiles around the table. "We did exactly what he hoped we'd do with the _Odyssey_."

"Hear, hear," Mitchell raised his glass of apple juice, before taking a sip. "And _I_ hear we have Teal'c to thank for all of it…"

The Jaffa tilted his head in a questioning manner.

"After all, if you hadn't given Davidson a pretext to get rid of that Johnson guy, you'd still be stuck arguing what to do with the ship, and Jackson and I would probably be dead. Well," he amended, "_I_'d be dead and he'd be...playing the Ascended harp or something."

"Funny," Daniel deadpanned. "And just FYI, I don't think I can 'or something' anymore, not without Oma."

"All the more reason to thank Teal'c for his quick thinking," Mitchell grinned. "Just the kind of resourcefulness we'd expect from a ship's commander."

The Jaffa dipped his head in acknowledgment of the compliment, and the tease. "It was fortunate that Marcus Johnson made the offer when he did. However, I must now file several auxiliary reports describing my involvement in the attempted mutiny."

Cam patted his shoulder. "Way to take one for the team, buddy."

"Yeah, I still can't believe he thought you'd go for that," Daniel shook his head.

"They must _really_ want to know if you're holding out on any secrets about the Odyssey," Sam commented.

"I am not."

"Well, they can't have you anyway," Cam declared. "I mean sure, commanding the _Odyssey_ would be okay, I suppose…but being on this team, now _that's_ where it's at."

Teal'c tilted his head ever so slightly. "That is where what is at, Colonel Mitchell?"

"It, Teal'c…y'know…_it_!"

Everyone laughed.

"I agree with Cameron," Vala said as she clasped both hands around her own cup of hot chocolate. "Being on this team is _much_ more fun than commanding some old ship."

"There you go," he nodded as though the point was clearly made, though from the corner of his eye he gave Vala a wry glance that said he knew exactly why she was playing so nice. She cleared her throat.

"Well, just so you know, in case someone offers me a ship, I'd decline it too. Come to think of it," she frowned thoughtfully, "I don't see why they haven't offered me one yet. I _am_ highly qualified…"

"Well, they probably figure that if you wanted a ship, you'd just …y'know…" Daniel smirked, "…take it."

Sam's shoulders tensed the slightest bit, and she exchanged a quick glance with Teal'c. Having been off the ship at the time, Daniel did not know about Johnson's comments to Vala, and so he had inadvertently brought up a potentially sore topic.

The dark-haired woman, however, raised her chin and huffed, not seeming overly upset by his comment. "Excuse me, I haven't stolen a ship in…at _least_ a year!"

Mitchell grinned. "Give the lady a coin. I'm assuming we're not counting the Lucians' Tel'tak, or we're gonna have to reset that count."

Vala's eyes narrowed at him.

"And there _was_ that Ori warship we planned to hijack on Dakara," Daniel reminded her with his faux 'serious' expression.

"And you stole that car a few months ago…I should know, I was in it."

"Plus, weren't you offering to 'borrow' the _Odyssey_ for Sam just a couple of days ago?"

"I was joking!" Vala protested, and there was a genuine note of distress in her voice. " And that car doesn't count, I barely remember that! And I wasn't even _on_ that warship!"

"Whoa." Mitchell held up his hands, and gave her a surprised look beneath his raised eyebrows. "_We_ were joking, _too_."

"Oh." She cleared her throat again, and crossed her arms. "Well…perhaps you should preface with that."

The two men exchanged a slightly confused glance. Vala look away uncomfortably.

"The Tau'ri sense of humour is indeed not intuitive to someone who is not Tau'ri," Teal'c provided, in a grave tone. "It has taken me several years to completely master all its nuances. However, with time," he reassured Vala, "you too may reach the same level of cultural expertise."

Mitchell stared. "The same expertise…as you..." he repeated slowly, "…who has 'mastered all its nuances'…"

"That is correct." Teal'c dipped his head, then looked up with a questioning glance. "If you are unconvinced about my mastery of the Tau'ri comedy register –"

"Oh, no! No, what, me?" Cam held up his hands again, looking left and right in a classic 'it wasn't me' stance. "I didn't say anything! I'm not unconvinced! In fact, I'm _totally_ convinced that your mastery of our comedy register, uh, encompasses all the nuances…"

Sam and Daniel were smiling openly.

"Nevertheless," the Jaffa offered, "I am prepared to demonstrate…"

Mitchell put a palm over his eyes. "That's really not necessary –"

Sam laughed out loud. Vala grinned widely.

"…what did the bartender say to the domesticated equine…?"

**The End**


	13. Dead Blind, pt 1

**Thanks so much to everyone reading and reviewing this story. Also huge thanks to the rest of the VS team: SC, Myosotis, Tel nok shock and our newest team member domina tempore - you're all fantastic partners in crime, even though we have completely renounced our sanity ;-). **

**And, Tel nok shock is celebrating a birthday this week, so in honor of that I'd like to dedicate this episode to her, and wish her a very happy birthday! **

**Dead Blind, pt. 1**

Cameron Mitchell could hear raised voices inside the SGC briefing room. He stood a few feet away from the closed door, and, for a second, considered turning away. But Teal'c was coming up the stairs behind him, and Cam felt it was beneath his station as an Airforce colonel and SGC team leader to beat a hasty retreat.

He reached for the door handle.

" –and if you didn't want to help me, you could've just _said_ so. There was hardly any need to make up some ridiculous story about Atlantis."

"For the tenth time," Daniel Jackson's voice was exasperated, but effortfully restrained, "it wasn't a story. I have a video-conference with the Atlantis science team and I need to prepare for it."

"Really, because nurse Clarissa didn't seem to know that."

Vala was facing him, arms crossed tightly, an incensed expression on her face. Neither of them noticed the briefing room door opening.

"She didn't _know_ because I didn't get to _tell_ her!" Daniel matched her irritation. "If you'd kept your mouth shut for another ten seconds – crazy idea, I know – I'd have told her that I'll be in a long-distance video-call with Atlantis tomorrow night, and –"

Reluctant to step further into the room, Mitchell kept his eyes on his two arguing team members, and leaned slightly back toward Teal'c. "Do you know what this is about?"

"And to think," Vala's eyes were wide with indignation, "you get so _outraged_ whenever I say the _tiniest_ white lie –"

"I wasn't lying!"

"I believe Vala Mal Doran has asked Daniel Jackson for assistance in searching for an apartment," Teal'c replied calmly. "She wishes to have alternative accommodations to the on-base quarters."

Cam's expression was doubtful as he watched the two of them continue their dispute. "Okay…how the heck did that end up in world war three?"

" –and make totally inappropriate comments," Daniel grumbled in annoyance, but Vala was looking entirely unrepentant.

"_Inappropriate_ is telling a bold-faced lie just so you can go on a date," she fumed. "I had to reschedule that replicator person and she apparently charges extra on the weekends!"

"Realtor," Daniel corrected automatically, "and I _told_ you to wait until I was finished with the Atlantis meeting and we could do it the next day!"

"I do not know, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c admitted. "Something must have transpired."

"Oops, sorry!" Sam entered the conference room a little too fast, and accidentally bumped into Mitchell. "Hi, why are you standing in the door ...way..."

She trailed off as she spotted Daniel and Vala inside the room, their body language a clear indication that they had been engaged in a heated argument. For the first time, they seemed to realize they had an audience. They fell silent and took a few steps away from each other, Vala with a challenging glare, Daniel pressing his lips together tightly and letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Uh, hi," Sam grimaced. "I … thought General Landry called a briefing…"

"He did," Landry's voice rumbled from behind, as he walked up the steps to the conference room. He paused and watched the three of them clustered right in front of the door, then arched his eyebrows wryly. "But I think we'd be a little more comfortable sitting down," he commented, and nodded to the table.

* * *

Daniel and Vala pointedly took seats as far away from each other as possible, while the rest of the team slipped into some of the remaining chairs. As usual, the General sat at the head of the table.

"You might remember that last month, General O'Neill and Dr. Jackson stopped an illicit trade between a former Trust associate and as-of-yet-unidentified alien parties," he started. There were brief nods from around the table. "During that operation, they retrieved an unknown prototype that the alien mercenaries meant to take back with them."

"Yes, the one that Sam thought was like the Dakara superweapon," Daniel remembered.

Carter sighed. "Just because it used a similar molecular decomposition mechanism. It wasn't at all like the Dakara superweapon in purpose," she reminded him, "it was just a small-scale phase shifting device."

"Actually, it wasn't _just_ a small-scale phase shifting device," Landry corrected, and he slid the folder he had been holding across the table. They opened it and each took a copy of the photos it held. "It was the same phase shifting device that had been retrieved from the Ancient treasure cache under Glastonbury Tor."

"Glastonbury Tor…why does that incomprehensible Tau'ri name sound familiar?" Vala bit her bottom lip with a thoughtful expression.

"That's where your Ancient tablet took us," Mitchell provided. "On your first...and very memorable...visit to Earth."

"Riiight," she remembered. "We found all that buried treasure and you didn't let me keep any of it. Hm. Now I know why I got such a gloomy feeling when you mentioned the name."

"It is also where we discovered the Ancient communication device that allowed you and Daniel Jackson to come into contact with the Ori galaxy," added Teal'c.

Vala grimaced, the playful glint in her eyes somewhat dimming. "And _there's_ even _more_ reason to feel gloomy about it…"

"I didn't realize there were other technologies buried in those piles of gold," said Mitchell.

Landry nodded. "Several other devices were found after you brought back the Ancient communication tool. The phase-shifting prototype that you recovered a few weeks ago was one of them."

Daniel frowned at the page in his hand, which showed two photos next to each other, seemingly of the same device. In one, the device was on a metal table and had an inventory tag. The other photo showed it in the small silver briefcase that he and Jack had retrieved from the Tel'tak pilot.

"Are we sure it's the same one? Maybe it's just the same kind of prototype…"

"It's the same exact item," Landry nodded. "After you discovered the Ancient treasure, the IOA assigned a team of scientists to take an inventory and categorize all the items. They kept very detailed records – and the prototype you retrieved from that Tel'tak pilot bore all the marks of the one in their records."

"How'd an Ancient prototype get from the Glastonbury inventory to a clandestine alien ship in the middle of the woods?" Mitchell looked puzzled.

Landry's eyebrows arched meaningfully. "_That's_ the million dollar question, Colonel. After the prototype's origin was identified," he told them, "General O'Neill ordered a full inventory of _all_ the items in the Ancient treasure. Turns out, a big chunk of what was in that cave has gone missing." He pointed to the second page in his copy of the briefing file. "Coins, gems, several pieces of jewelry…"

"Huh," Daniel pursed his lips. "I guess now we have a good idea of what was in that suitcase that the woman used to pay those mercenaries."

"My thoughts exactly," the General confirmed. "But several pieces of technology were also missing from the inventory."

"Like the prototype," Cam nodded slowly. "Think the Trust – or whoever they are – have been stealing the Ancient technology from Area 51 and sending it off-world to…" he shrugged, palms turning upwards as he could not think of a plausible guess. "Sell?" he finally guessed.

"We don't know who took the items. Homeworld Security is in the process of investigating everyone who had access to the labs and storage units that held them. And we don't know exactly why they were taken," Landry continued, "but I recently circulated the list of missing devices to all outgoing SG teams, so everyone could keep their eyes open."

"That is a wise strategy," Teal'c approved. "Perhaps one of the teams will uncover further evidence during off-world missions."

Landry's expression was serious as he held up the briefing file. "One of them already did."

* * *

"SG-13 brought this back with them from P4X-229, where they were helping the local government with reconstruction efforts following the Ori attacks." The General flipped to the third page of the briefing file, and held it up for the rest of them to see. "Colonel Dixon recognized the image on it as one of the missing inventory items."

Sam studied the two pages side by side. "It definitely looks like the same _kind_ of device, although it's hard to know for sure if it's the exact item…" She checked the list that labelled the missing technology. "According to the IOA report, this was identified as a small-scale energy converter. But…" she frowned. "This report also says that the prototype was missing a viable power source when it was found …which would make it useless."

"Unless whoever took it also stole the power source from somewhere else," Mitchell pointed out, and Sam gave him a conceding nod. "Although, why would the Ancients store the device in their buried treasure and not the power source?"

"Perhaps they believed the device to be too dangerous, and wished to ensure that it would not be easy to employ it," Teal'c suggested.

"Wouldn't be the first time they do that," Sam said with a hint of doubt, "but this really doesn't seem like such a dangerous technology. Maybe the power source was just lost, or it decayed over time."

"Uh, I still don't get how this energy converter made it to P4X-229." Daniel sounded confused. "Last I checked, that planet worked as a hub for peaceful commerce with its neighbours. They weren't mercenaries or had anything to do with the Goa'uld, or the Lucians, or any of the usual suspects… why would someone here steal this technology and send it there?"

"They _didn't_," Vala spoke up, the disdain in her voice just slightly too pronounced. Daniel, in turn, arched his eyebrows sceptically.

"Clearly _someone_ did, because SG-13 found it there."

"Actually," Sam was flicking through the rest of the briefing file, "From their mission report, SG-13 didn't find the item itself, they just saw an image that looked like it on this holo-tablet in one of the local markets…"

Landry confirmed her words with a nod. "The vendor agreed to let them record a copy of the message on the holo-tablet." He held up the last page of the file. A close depiction of the energy converter was on it, along with several symbols. "Dr. Balinksy recognized the language as Goa'uld, but wasn't able to make sense of the message."

"That's because it doesn't _make_ any sense." Daniel frowned as he re-read the symbols. "It's just a bunch of random words and numbers…'open', 'honour', and this could mean 'linked' or 'connected'…and there's 'open' again, and a lot of numbers, which are also complete gibberish…I guess those could be a code to decipher –"

"It's only complete gibberish if you don't know how to read it," Vala interrupted, and ignored his glare. "_This_," she tapped the page with a finger, "is an Ata House announcement, and your bunch of random numbers, Daniel, are dates and coordinates for their next auction."

In the seat next to hers, Teal'c silently nodded his agreement.

"Ata House? Wanna clear that up a little bit?"

"Vala Mal Doran is referring to a well-respected trade system," the Jaffa answered Mitchell's question instead, "known by its full name as the Komah'Duru'Ata network."

"Komah'Duru'Ata…" the archaeologist repeated thoughtfully.

"It means, 'the deals are done with honour'," Vala provided, earning herself another irritated glare.

"Yes I know that, thank you, I did spend twelve years studying the Goa'uld language."

"Well, since two minutes ago you couldn't read the announcement…"

"I could _read_ it just fine, I just didn't understand what it refers to, because _unlike_ – "

"_I_ for one, can't read it _or_ understand what it refers to," Landry rumbled with an impatient glare to both of them, "so if you don't mind letting Teal'c finish, perhaps we can move on before I'm old enough to retire."

That silenced the two bickering SG1 members, and Teal'c was free to continue.

"The Komah'Duru'Ata network was established many hundreds of years ago by the System Lord Yu," he explained, "as a secure environment in which the System Lords could perform financial and technological trades."

"And by 'secure', you mean a place where they wouldn't try to stab each other in the back and steal each other's territories," Cam guessed. "Which is probably how a lot of System Lords business went down back then."

Teal'c nodded. "Lord Yu recognized the need for a trustworthy system, and spent many years setting up the Komah'Duru'Ata as a medium where business was conducted in an honest manner. Severe punishments were dealt to all those who attempted to subvert the Komah'Duru'Ata's main rule of operation…"

"'The deals are done with honour'," Daniel quoted. "I'm surprised that kind of venture worked among the Goa'uld, especially in the System Lords era…they weren't exactly honourable."

"Well, Yu kind of was," Sam pointed out with a thoughtful expression. "He did live up to his word and believed in straight deals…if anyone could've made this work, it was him."

"And so he did," Teal'c confirmed. "Lord Yu was immensely powerful when he founded Komah'Duru'Ata, and had the authority to enforce its directives even against the High Council of System Lords. He destroyed several minor Goa'uld for attempting to defy the rules of honest trade within the network, and even engaged in a decade-long war with Heru'ur. In the end, the Komah'Duru'Ata became what Yu wished it to be: a secure business environment for the System Lords."

"Oh-kay…but since the System Lords are all dead, how is it still running?" Daniel frowned. "Who's enforcing its authority now?"

"The auction house was the key component of Komah'Duru'Ata," Teal'c explained, "as it announced the available trade opportunities, provided a secure location for the exchanges, and ensured the security of many important items and the credibility of its buyers and sellers. Lord Yu tasked several highly-trained humans to operate it, and granted them independence from the System Lords, in order to ensure that Komah'Duru'Ata would remain truly neutral. It has likely survived the fall of the Goa'uld."

"Oh yes, the Ata House – that's what everyone calls it these days – is running just fine," Vala added, "and they're doing a pretty good job enforcing their own authority. No one's ever successfully cheated them and lived to tell the tale."

"How come we never heard of them?" asked Cam. "We've been 'round the block enough times, you'd think we'd run into this Goa'uld ninja auction house."

Vala shrugged. "Not unless you have something important to sell…or buy. They're very small and exclusive, and they don't do business with just anyone. _And_ they're a mobile operation, so it's hard to pinpoint where they are at any given time. That's why auction announcements have dates and coordinates on them," she explained. "This one, for example…" she picked up the briefing file and re-read the symbols, "is in two days."

"What about the other words on the announcement?" Sam asked. "Can you read that code?"

"It's not really a code…" Vala studied the symbols for another second. "'Open' means that the auction for this particular item is open to all buyers…'linked' means there might be other items on the sale roster that would be of interest to whoever buys this one…and the 'open' on the bottom means they will accept all standard forms of payment. You know, money, crystals, naquadah bars, labour hours, drugs," she waved a hand, "and so on. They're very flexible when it comes to trading."

Cam pinched the bridge of his nose. "I still don't understand how our Ancient treasure got from underneath a hill in England to the…"

"Goa'uld ninja auction house?" Sam repeated with a smile.

"Exactly."

Landry leaned forward in his seat and gave Vala a grave look. "Would the people in charge of this auction be willing to tell us how they obtained the energy converter?"

She grimaced. "Confidentiality is kind of implied when you're in that business. _But_, they might be willing to sell us the device…in which case we, as buyers, would have a right to question the source of the merchandise and find out how it came to be in their possession."

* * *

Daniel zipped up his tan jacket, a far cry from the usual SG1 uniform. "I'm still not sure about this…"

"Don't worry Daniel, I'm sure nurse Claire will agree to reschedule your date to another night."

"I think her name's Clarice, and what I _worry_ about is you dragging us on a quasi-illegal treasure hunt around the galaxy. _Again_," he added after a second, with a meaningful arch of his eyebrows. "Last two times didn't go so well, in case you forgot."

Standing by the gate ramp, Vala adjusted the strap of her old satchel and gave him a dismissive look. "That had very little to do with me and everything to do with your inability to act a part."

"No, I think it had more to do with the fact that you kept trying to double cross the wrong people…"

Her reply was pre-empted by General Landry walking into the gate room. In one hand, he carried a plain black backpack, which looked reasonably full and heavy.

"That looks sufficient to buy the energy converter," Vala approved.

Landry handed the pack to Colonel Mitchell before she could reach for it. "It should be, there's a small fortune in gold and crystals in there," he grumbled, then gave her a warning look. "I don't need to remind you that there's an IOA audit coming up, and I want something to show for spending all this." He looked at the rest of the team, in turn. "Bring back that energy converter and _find out_ who stole it and why."

"No problem," promised Vala, and she grinned when Mitchell gave her a wry look.

"Where have we heard _that_ before," Daniel muttered as he checked the Zat and handgun under his jacket.

The SG1 leader gave a noncommittal nod.

"She's got a point," he agreed cautiously, "this ain't no intergalactic crisis scenario –"

"_Yet_," Daniel put in, sotto voce. Cam gave him an impatient look, and continued:

" –we just gotta get to that auction house, bid our stash on that Ancient carburettor and ask them where they got it. How hard can it be?"

* * *

The large man had a shaved head with a single symbol tattooed high on his forehead, and arms about as thick as the stone columns by the door behind him. He glowered as he held up his hand in a classic gesture of prohibition. Behind him, four armed guards held their weapons trained on the team.

"You are not eligible to conduct business with the Ata House. If you do not leave at once, your actions will be perceived as a threat, and you will be dealt with accordingly."

As one, the four guards took a step forward. Their expressions promised nothing good.

Mitchell grimaced as he put up his hands. "I take it back," he muttered, "this might be a little harder than I thought."


	14. Dead Blind, pt 2

**Dead Blind, pt. 2**

_The large man had a shaved head with a single symbol tattooed high on his forehead, and arms about as thick as the stone columns by the door behind him. He glowered as he held up his hand in a classic gesture of prohibition. Behind him, four armed guards held their weapons trained on the team._

_"You are not eligible to conduct business with the Ata House. If you do not leave at once, your actions will be perceived as a threat, and you will be dealt with accordingly."_

_As one, the four guards took a step forward. Their expressions promised nothing good._

_Mitchell grimaced as he put up his hands. "I take it back," he muttered, "this might be a little harder than I thought."_

* * *

SG-1 faced the guards who blocked their entrance into the majestic stone building that housed the current auction of the Ata House. All four men wore dark, straight cut tunics and carried what looked like assault riffles; their leader was unarmed, but his size and threatening glare were deterrent enough. A crowd was beginning to gather around them in the large courtyard.

The tattooed behemoth took another step forward. "Leave now," he warned in a low voice, "and there will be no further trouble. Stay, and the Ata House will deal with you."

"Now hang on a second…" Mitchell cleared his throat, "we were told this was an open auction. Saw it on the announcement and everything. So what's with the frosty reception?"

"The auction is not open to _you_," the man replied, crossing his arms. "Ata House does not conduct business with those who have been blacklisted." He gave Vala a dark look, and she returned a humourless smile as understanding dawned on her teammates' faces.

Mitchell exhaled slowly, and let his chin drop halfway to his chest. "Would you excuse us for a minute?" He nodded for the team to follow him, and they retreated a short distance away. The guards kept keen gazes trained on them.

"I know what you're thinking –" Vala started as soon as Cam stopped walking.

"You're on their _blacklist_?" he thundered. "You said you'd never had any run-ins with these guys!"

"I didn't!" she defended. "They probably blacklisted me because of my…previous...reputation…look," she hurried to say before he could yell at her again, "this is just a small setback, I knew that this might happen –"

Instead of reassuring him, that only exasperated Mitchell more. "And it didn't occur to you to say something _before _we ran into the Hulk and his welcoming committee?"

"I didn't know for sure! Besides, if I'd said something, General Landry might have not let me come, and we all know you need me on this."

"I don't know about that…" Daniel checked his watch. "Ten minutes in and it's already going badly… this beats even the time you had us chase those two lizard bounty hunters."

The SG1 leader gritted his teeth and let out an irritated breath. "_This_ is why we have pre-mission briefings, so you can _mention_ these potential 'small setbacks'!" He held up a finger when Vala opened her mouth again. "We'll talk about this later. Right now," he checked his watch, "we still have just enough time to go back and have Landry send Reynolds and his team to bid –"

"No!"

Cam raised his eyebrows at her protest. "'No'?"

"This is _our_ mission," she argued, "and we can do it. I can get us in there."

"Vala, there's an eight-foot-tall pile of muscle and four armed guards between us and that door, and probably more of them inside. We can't fight our way past all of them. And weren't you the one who said no one crosses the Ata House and lives to tell the tale?"

"I'm not planning to cross them," she explained, "we can get their permission to participate in the auction. It's just a matter of…greasing the right wheels. Look," she said to all of them, in her most persuasive manner, "the auction starts in a few hours, there's no time for us to go back, explain what happened, and for another team to go through briefing and mission preparations."

Next to her, Sam gave a slight nod. "She's right, we'll never get another team here in time." She exchanged a wary look with Mitchell. "If Vala can convince them to let us in, this could be our only chance to find out who sold them that energy converter…"

"It's worth a try," Daniel agreed, "except I think maybe _you_ should go back to Earth –" he noticed Vala's shocked expression, and knew that she was not taking kindly to his suggestion. "I'm just thinking it'd be _easier_ to focus on getting our answers _without_ having to worry about these people locking you up or doing god-knows-what-else…"

Vala crossed her arms. "I appreciate your _concern_, Daniel," she replied in a tone that implied exactly the opposite, "but they're not going to do anything to me once they've agreed to let us bid in the auction."

He sighed. "Maybe we should go with 'better safe than sorry' this time…?"

"I'm with Jackson on this one. See if you can convince them to let us in and –"

"You can't send me back!" she protested. "You need me here for this mission."

"Yeah, we also need you alive and not in some alien _jailhouse_."

"That's not how the Ata House works. If they let us in, they agree to protect us, our property and our transactions for the duration of the auction. They won't do anything to break that trust – 'the deals are done with honour', remember?"

She turned a pleading look to Teal'c, the only other one on their team who had any knowledge of the old auction house rules.

The Jaffa hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded to confirm her words. "Vala Mal Doran is correct. Once we have obtained permission to participate in the auction, I believe all of us are safe to do so."

There was a brief silence as they all considered the best course of action. Then Mitchell shook his head with a frustrated sigh. "You and I are going to have a long talk after this, about proper mission protocol," he told Vala. "Now go see if you can get them to let us bid on the damn thing."

The dark-haired woman grinned.

* * *

"Well, at least it looks like they're hearing out our case."

From their position near the courtyard entrance, Sam watched Vala negotiate with a well-clad, distinguished-looking individual who, she assumed, was an Ata House representative. He listened with a pleasant smile and the occasional nod as the dark-haired woman went through a whole range of theatrical expressions and waved her hands energetically to explain the situation.

"The welcoming committee doesn't look too happy," Mitchell commented, keeping a wary eye on the large man who had first refused them entrance into the building. "What's with the ink, anyway? I thought the Ata House only employed 'highly trained humans', not Jaffa."

"That is not a Jaffa mark," Teal'c explained, looking at the tattoo on the man's forehead, "it is the symbol of the Komah'Duru'Ata."

"It's the Goa'uld symbol for 'honour'," Daniel added somewhat absently, as he also kept a watchful gaze on Vala's negotiations with the representative.

"So how come none of the other guards have it? Are they just hired muscle?"

"The House does occasionally employ outside transaction agents, but it never uses outside contractors for its security," the Jaffa replied. "All the guards work for the auction house full time, and have been trained for years by Komah'Duru'Ata standards. However, only full house members, and those employees directly involved in enforcing the honourable trade system may wear the symbol."

"So…only the guys who're allowed to shoot us if we don't play nice," Cam translated.

Teal'c nodded. "They are also the people who verify the identity of the sellers and buyers, inspect the forms of payment, and ensure that each individual auction unfolds in a secure, peaceful manner."

"Guess our friend up there would fall in the 'verify the identity' category," Sam assumed. "I think if it were up to him, we wouldn't be getting anywhere near that auction. Good thing Vala asked to speak to the manager…" Her eyes flickered briefly to the elegantly dressed man, with the dark tan and black eyes that glinted with amusement. "He looks like he's in a better mood."

"Based on past experience, I'm not sure that's a good thing," Daniel muttered.

"We're about to find out." Mitchell crossed his arms and arched his eyebrows expectantly as Vala strolled back over to them, a satisfied smile on her face. "So, do we get to see the Wizard?"

She gave him a funny look. "I don't – oh wait, I saw that film," she smiled again as comprehension dawned, "you're implying that this is similar to the Wizard of Oz because –"

"Vala, can we participate in the auction or not?"

She bit her lips. "I'm going to need that goodie bag that General Landry gave us."

Daniel sighed loudly. "Why am I not surprised?"

Vala ignored him. "Our friend Anwar over there – he's the Ata House member in charge of this particular auction – has agreed that we, as a whole, are sufficiently trustworthy to participate…" she bit her lower lip and added under her breath, "with a small security deposit…"

"How small? We still need to bid on the energy converter," Mitchell reminded her.

"We're…still negotiating that part," she admitted, and gave them a confident smile. "I'm sure it will work out to everyone's satisfaction."

* * *

Mitchell pressed two fingers between his eyebrows, in the small hope of holding off the looming headache.

"_Please_ tell me you didn't just give that guy _all_ our money."

Vala bit her lips and returned an innocent smile.

"Don't worry, I have a plan."

The colonel briefly looked like he was fighting the urge to murder her…which he probably was. Next to him, Daniel shook his head in irritation.

"Great, so we just spent half a year's budget just to be allowed _into_ the auction house, and we don't have anything left to bid on the actual item." The archaeologist gave Vala a sarcastic look. "_This_ is going about as well as the other two times we followed your plan."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "They do say it's an open form of payment," she pointed out, then slowly gave him a suggestive once-over. "I'm sure there's some rich old lady out there who'd be as charmed by you as nurse Clarabelle."

Daniel gritted his teeth and exhaled angrily. "Would you _please_ –"

"How exactly do you plan for us to buy that energy converter," Mitchell interrupted with a cross look at Vala, "without any money? And it better not involve Jackson's charms, or anyone else's," he warned.

"Maybe we should go inside and see it, if it's on display," Sam suggested, trying to give Vala a break to think. "We might be able to tell something by just looking at it, or maybe there's an item description that says how it was acquired…after all, it's not really the converter we want, it's the information on who sold it to them…"

Daniel gave a lopsided nod. "Worth a try," he agreed. Teal'c, too, seemed to approve of the plan.

After a moment, Mitchell nodded. "Let's do it." He grabbed the strap of Vala's satchel to hold her back while the rest of the team advanced toward the building entrance. "Not so fast. From now on," he gave her a stern look, "you stay quiet and let someone else do the negotiating."

"I got us in, didn't I?" she huffed. "I can get us the item as well."

"Vala, so help me God, if you try to steal that damn thing and we end up having to bust you out of some –"

"I'm not planning to steal from the Ata House!" she retorted grumpily. "Do you think I have a death wish?"

"I don't know _what_ to think anymore, you've been acting all… look," he faced her with an earnest expression, "if something's bothering you, if you want some time off, that's fine, we can hold the fort without you for a couple –"

"You want to take me off the team because of a few minor setbacks?" Her expression was a mixture of alarm and indignation. "There's nothing to worry about, I –"

A loud gong covered her voice, and caused both of them to wince as the deep tone hurt their ears. It took a few seconds for the sound to fade, and Cam noticed that other people in the courtyard were beginning to file into the majestic stone building. The guards watched everyone with cautious gazes.

"What the heck was that?"

"The first signal that the pre-auction assembly will start soon." Vala was watching him with the slightest hint of wariness. "That's when they tell the story of the Ata House, give the latest news, and give the bidders and sellers a chance to talk to each other if they're interested. I hear it's quite boring…"

"Right…okay, about the –"

"Cameron, trust me," she assured, "we can finish this mission and get your Ancient toy back and all the information you want, just give me a chance to…work my magic."

Mitchell pinched the bridge of his nose. "Vala, we're already on the wrong side of those guards, and we've got no money left to bid. So I repeat, from now on, we're playing it by the book…is that clear?"

She rolled her eyes, but finally acquiesced with a quick nod.

"Good. You can work your magic to convince Landry not to take that money out of our pay checks when we get back."

With that, he motioned for the two of them to start walking, and they quickly caught up to the rest of the team, who had diplomatically waited at the foot of the steps that led into the building. As Vala passed Daniel, he opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it, and just followed her silently through the high bronze doors.

* * *

The Ancient object sat inside a glass case, on a thick piece of soft cloth. The label by the case described it simply as "energy conversion technology, origin: Ancient" in several popular languages. There was no mention of how the auction house had come to acquire it.

"At least they're honest about it not having a viable power source…" Daniel pointed to a footnote on the label. "But they describe it as likely having the ability to amplify energy from a source by several orders of magnitude."

"That's about what the IOA science report said," Sam confirmed as she studied the object. "It's a little bigger than I thought…it's hard to tell what the scale is without a power source, but I think if we were able to get this to interact with the SGC systems, we might be able to significantly reduce the energy costs of powering the gate…"

"At least the IOA'd love _that_," Daniel muttered with an eye roll. His opinion of the oversight committee had hit an all-time low after the recent _Odyssey_ incident.

"For now, let's find out who stole this from Earth in the first place," Mitchell instructed. "We need a good hint as to who's behind those illegal transports you and General O'Neill stopped, or at least who their off-world buddies are…"

Vala looked at the energy converter, a small curious frown forming between her eyebrows.

"Ah, I see you are interested in our advanced technologies today." Anwar, the man who had agreed to allow them into the auction house, approached them with a pleasant smile. He wore the same elegant tunic as before, and the tips of his curly dark hair glistened slightly with some sort of gel. "This is a particularly remarkable piece, I must admit…"

"Except it's not working," Daniel pointed out, and tapped the line that mentioned the absent power source on the item description. "Any idea what happened to that power source?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm afraid the item arrived to the Ata House in its current condition. However, one of our scientists would be glad to suggest to you several ways in which you can incorporate a foreign power source…from what I hear about you, Colonel Samantha Carter, it should not be a problem for you to get this machine functioning again."

Sam offered a brief smile in acknowledgment of his compliment. "I don't know about that, Ancient technologies are very specific…so you don't have any idea of where the power source might be? Or why someone would sell the converter without it?"

"Alas, I cannot answer either of those questions. To the best of our knowledge, this is all that was in possession of the seller."

Vala frowned thoughtfully. "Hm… you'd think the seller would notice that a…" her inquisitive gaze moved to Sam, "…chunk of wires and circuits...was missing from this prized possession?"

"Actually," the blonde corrected, "the Ancients didn't really use electricity to power their devices. From what we've seen so far, most of them were powered by high-energy materials like naquadah, or by high-energy particles." She took another look at the converted behind the glass case. "From the design, I'd say the power source must look like some sort of spherical crystal," she held her cupped hands together, "probably about this big…"

Vala's eyes fixed Anwar. "You don't happen to have _that_ lying around, by any chance…?" Her expression was almost hopeful.

"I'm afraid not."

"And…no idea where we might find it…?" she gave him her most persuasive expression. "Not the tiniest inkling?"

Anwar laughed quietly. "None at all. If the previous owner knew the location of the power source, I'm afraid he did not share it with our transaction agent."

"And who might that previous owner be…?" Daniel tried, only to be rewarded with an amused chuckle.

"I apologize, Dr. Daniel Jackson, but we maintain the identity of our sellers and buyers confidential."

"We're just wondering about the…origin of the item," the archaeologist rephrased. "I mean, is there any guarantee that it's actually Ancient? Or that it wasn't uhm…tampered with…or…used for anything illegal…" he trailed off as Anwar's jovial expression soured somewhat.

"We test our items for weeks before making them eligible for auctioning," the Ata House member replied a little haughtily. "I assure you the origin of this technology is genuine, and our scientists could discover no indication of any misuse."

Vala took a step forward. "You'll have to excuse Daniel, he gets…overenthusiastic," she gave the archaeologist a condescending eyeroll. "What he meant to say was…what route did the item take to get to you...? Was it a private sale? Found it in a market? Family heirloom?" She gave the man a winning smile. "There's no information about the seller in any of that, so you can tell us, right?"

The auction organizer chuckled again, his good mood restored. "Sadly you will not gather much from my answer, but yes, I can tell you that this object was bought by one of our hired transaction agents from a private seller."

"And…could we speak to this transaction agent?"

Anwar smiled appreciatively. "Very tenacious, Vala Mal Doran, but I'm afraid he will not be able to tell you any more than I did."

"Does the item come with supporting documentation? Dates of the original sale to your transaction agent, maybe a price, a reason for the sale…witnesses…?"

"It does. But that information is only available after the official sale has been closed." He gave them another pleasant smile. "If you'll excuse me, I should meet some of our other guests. Please, feel free to browse the rest of today's collection…and the pre-auction assembly should begin shortly."

As he walked away toward another group, SG1 remained gathered around the glass case, pondering the best course of action. Mitchell shook his head, looking frustrated. Vala was staring at the Ancient object again, and the same thoughtful frown on her face was now mixed with a hint of apprehension.

"It appears we must purchase the item to obtain any more information," Teal'c finally concluded. His comment was met with slow nods from the rest of the team.

"Think General Landry would give us the other half of the year's budget…?"

Cam shook his head at Sam's question. "No, but I do think he might shoot us if we ask." He took a few steps around the case, trying to think of an alternative. "I'm open to suggestions, people…"

Vala tore her gaze away from the case, and shook her head as though to chase away a distracting thought. Then she gave Mitchell a meaningful look and raised a hand.

The colonel sighed. "Does anyone _else_ have an idea…_please_."

"Maybe if we pool all other valuables on us…watches, jewelry, weapons…" Even Daniel sounded doubtful of his own idea. "Although that probably won't even come close to enough…and they did confiscate our weapons at the door…"

"We could try to scare off the other buyers," Sam offered half-heartedly, "suggest that the technology is unreliable or that the item is broken…that might drive down the price –"

"_No_!" Everyone started in surprised at Vala's vigorous protest, and she cleared her throat. "That would qualify as dishonourable business practice, and it would have _highly_ unpleasant consequences for us. All our transactions with the Ata House need to be clean," she reminded them. "_I_ have an idea."

Cam still glanced hopefully at his other three team members, in turn. Sam offered a small shrug and an apologetic headshake. Teal'c stared back inscrutably. Daniel let his chin fall to his chest and muttered: "Yeah, I've got nothing."

Finally, Mitchell relented and nodded to Vala. "Alright…let's hear it."


	15. Dead Blind, pt 3

**Dead Blind, pt. 3**

It was the first time that SG1 had ever had to wait in line to travel off a planet. With the Ata House auction underway, traffic around the stargate was unusually intense. The gate was also watched by several guards, who did nothing to interfere with the travellers, but were presumably there to maintain order and act as a warning system if something (or some_one_) nefarious came through.

"So exactly how many of these 'back-up' stashes do you have?" Mitchell gave Vala a wry glance as he repositioned his newly un-confiscated Zat back under his jacket.

"Not as many as I used to," she replied, sounding wistful. "Since I joined your little Tau'ri business, I've neglected to visit and check on any of my hiding places. I'm sure most of them must have been looted by now." She shook her head with a disappointed expression. "All that hard work…"

"Don't aliens have…banks, or something?"

"The System Lords controlled all interplanetary financial deposit and exchange systems," Teal'c replied instead. "With the exception of the Komah'Duru'Ata, none of them were particularly reliable."

"Hence the secret stashes..." Cam caught Vala's hand as she was about to dial the gate. "Remind me that we're not going to rob anyone, or exploit some naïve primitive natives."

Vala rolled her eyes. "Cameron, I already told you, this is all perfectly legal."

"Tell me again."

She let out an impatient huff. "There will be no robbing, no exploiting, only retrieving my own property. Happy?"

He released her hand and waved to the DHD. "Dial away."

* * *

They emerged from the stargate on an arid planet, and had to blink uncomfortably as the bright sunlight blinded them. Sand dunes stretched as far as the eye could see, and there was no living soul in sight.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Daniel coughed as a sudden gust of wind blew some sand in his face. "Doesn't look like there are a lot of options for hiding things around here."

Vala gave him a condescending look as she walked past him to one of the nearby dunes. "Only because you don't know what you're looking for. Just like when you couldn't read the auction announcement."

"Again, read it just fine…" he muttered, more resigned than incensed.

The rest of the team had stopped a few yards back, and they were watching Vala, who had walked up to a dune that was about twice her height. She was trying to scrape the sand away from a seemingly random spot about halfway up. Mitchell gave Sam a questioning glance, and she simply shrugged as if to say, 'I have no idea, either'.

Daniel stood to the side and watched as the alien woman dug at the hot sand with increasing impatience. The more sand she brushed out of the way, the more took its place. It slipped through her fingers and over her hands, and much as she kept digging at it, nothing was revealed underneath except more sand, until it covered her arms up to her elbows.

When after a few minutes of effort still nothing happened and Vala let out a frustrated huff, Daniel crossed his arms and allowed a derisive smile to play on his lips.

"I'm pretty sure in the movie, only Aladdin could enter the secret cave in the desert," he quipped.

The joke was lost on Vala and Teal'c, but the two SG-1 colonels looked intrigued at the analogy. Daniel rolled his eyes at their expressions.

Sam gave a lopsided nod. "I see it," she said with a small grin.

"I think in this case, that would make you the monkey, Jackson," added Cam.

"Very funny," the archaeologist grumbled, then coughed again as more sand blew in his face. "Vala, what _exactly_ are you trying to _get_ to inside that dune? I'm assuming it's not the magic lamp…"

"_Aha_!" Her face lit up with a victorious smile as her hands hit something solid past the layers of sand, and a few seconds later, most of the sand fell off to reveal a small, rickety-looking ship.

"No lamp, but here's your magic carpet," Mitchell finished the analogy. Then he gave Vala a baffled head shake. "You hid your secret savings inside a ship…inside a sand dune…"

But she only returned a pitying expression. "Of course I didn't hide the loot inside the ship, Cameron, someone could've found it! We're going to _fly_ this ship to my hideaway."

"You do know we only have a couple of hours until the auction starts, right?" Daniel reminded her.

"It's on a nearby moon, Daniel, so it's a quick trip there and back," Vala retorted, "but you're welcome to stay here and wait for us. The ship _would_ be faster without the extra weight…"

"What, and miss more of this exciting rambling around the galaxy on your say-so?" he returned with equal sarcasm. "Wouldn't dream of that…"

"Clock's ticking, people," Cam prompted before she could say anything else. "Let's go get the bidding money before someone else buys our Ancient puzzle piece."

* * *

The small moon did look like a perfect place to hide things, with its tall mountain walls that held hundreds of small cave entrances. It would have taken someone weeks to search all the caves one by one, and that was assuming they did not intersect with each other or go too deep below the mountain.

Vala landed the ship carefully on a small plateau about halfway up one of the cliffs, and deftly climbed her way to an isolated set of cave entrances about thirty or so feet above their current position. The rest of the team followed more slowly, their weapons at the ready, although she had assured them that the moon was unpopulated.

By the time they made it up the cliff, Vala was disappearing into one of the caves. They all hurried to the entrance, only to hear her frustrated groan a moment later. When they found her standing inside the empty cave, her expression was a mixture of fury and disappointment.

"I can't believe it!" she fumed. "That little rat Inago must've decided to raid it, he was the only one who could've figured out this location!"

"Inago…" Mitchell frowned thoughtfully. "Isn't that –"

"Power coil guy," Daniel nodded.

"Right."

"Are you sure this is the right cave?" Sam asked, trying to offer some hope. "You said it's been a while, maybe you're misremembering…?"

But even as she asked, she noticed traces on the floor where the dust had settled differently, as though large crates had been there not too long ago, as well as several markers on the cave walls and some metal trinkets glinting near the back.

"It's the right cave," Vala confirmed, still furious. "I'm going to track down that sneaky, back-stabbing sorry excuse for a Jaffa and _strangle_ him with my own two hands! How _dare_ he help himself to my honestly earned loot!" The others expressed various degrees of exasperation at her phrasing, but a genuine note of distress seeped through Vala's anger as she spoke.

"Okay...that's what happens when you work with people like Inago," Daniel commented, "but you said you have other stashes, right?"

With one last angry look around the plundered hideaway, Vala sat down heavily on a dusty boulder. "Yes," she confirmed in a suspiciously undecided tone.

"So can we get to one of _those_?" Mitchell asked. "We probably still have a few hours if we stretch it, and we need the money… Can we make it to another one of your…'back-up options'?"

Vala crossed her arms. "That…depends," she said slowly.

The colonel's expression grew wary. "On…?"

She bit her lips and gave him an innocent expression. "How flexible are you on the 'no robbing' and 'no exploiting' bits?"

* * *

Cam groaned. Daniel pressed two fingers to his eyes, rubbing them tiredly.

"Alright," the colonel headed back to the cave entrance, "we gave it a try…let's head back to that auction house and see if it…starts raining money…which is about the only solution that occurs to me at the moment."

"Maybe we _should_ ask Landry for more," Daniel suggested. "He might be willing to…"

"With an IOA audit coming up?" Sam sounded doubtful. "No way."

"Perhaps the Ata House would be open to a trade of a different kind…"

Still sitting on the boulder, Vala watched the rest of her team make their way out. As their voices faded, she took one last look at the empty cave, and lowered her face in her palms with a deep sigh. Her fingers pressed against her temples and she frowned as her mind struggled to search for a solution amid a storm of agitated thoughts.

Finally, her eyes snapped open again and she stood up with renewed determination. As she hurried out of the cave without looking back, she nearly bumped into Daniel.

"Hey –" But Vala rushed right past him, and his eyebrows arched with a mixture of surprise and suspicion. "Oh-kay…"

"Wait," she called to Mitchell, "I just had another idea!"

Everyone's expressions grew wary.

"Vala, I think maybe –"

"Just hear me out!" She hurried to climb down after them. "I promise it involves absolutely zero cheating, scheming or exploiting. Besides, we've come this far already, we can't just go back empty-handed!"

Her pleading voice echoed around the cavernous mountain wall. There was a brief silence as the rest of the team pondered her words, all of them with various degrees of doubt etched on their faces.

Finally, Teal'c tilted his head. "The Tau'ri do say that perseverance is the mother of success."

Mitchell groaned.

"Yeah, we also say 'quit while you're ahead'."

* * *

"Y'know, a couple of hours ago, this mission was just 'get to the auction house, bid on the stolen Ancient converter, hope we win, get back to Earth with the intel'." Mitchell gave Vala a meaningful glance. "Why is it that five stargate trips and a couple of ship runs later, we're broke and we haven't even made it past the front door?"

The latest planet they had travelled to had the appearance of a busy outdoors market. The team made their way through the crowded streets as fast as they could, trying to ignore the long looks they were getting from the market's usual clients.

"When this ends badly, remind me to say 'I told you so'," Daniel said casually to none of them in particular.

"I think we're _way_ past that," sighed Cam. "At least it's just power coil guy…"

"So, let me get this straight, you two already know this…Inago, from some deal that involved exchanging a power coil for a necklace," Sam managed to dodge a merchant who tried to shove some gaudy jewerly piece at her. "And he's a Jaffa black market trader?"

"A slimy, opportunistic, thieving, back-stabbing Jaffa black market trader," Vala corrected.

Daniel grimaced at the list of attributes. "And yet _this_ is the guy we're hoping will give your stuff back…out of the goodness of his heart…?"

The look she threw over her shoulder promised nothing good for the Jaffa in question. "_If_ he wants to keep said heart beating, then yes."

"Why do I get the feeling that –"

He was forced to break off when Vala abruptly grabbed a quiet passerby in a modest-looking cloak. "Not so fast," she growled.

The man she'd grabbed struggled a little and tried to make a run for it, but she held on tight to his cloak, causing him to become tangled in it and stumble. He extracted a gun from its folds, but by the time he had aimed it at Vala, he was welcomed with four other muzzles from the rest of SG-1.

Vala put her hands on her hips. "Hello Inago."

The Jaffa's shoulders slumped as he lowered the gun. "You brought _four_ of them this time?" he whined. "What, the two goons from last time weren't enough? Oh great, and you dragged a Jaffa along," he rolled his eyes as his gaze swept casually past Teal'c's forehead, "really, Vala, this is overkill even for –"

His mouth dropped open, and his eyes shot back to Teal'c's first prime mark. "Teal'c of Chulak!" He gave Vala a brief look of concern, before staring at Teal'c again. "You brought _Teal'c_ alo –" His eyes widened even further as he moved his gaze to the other three. "Holy smelly burning pits of Netu! It's _true_! You _are_ working with the Tau'ri! I thought it was just a rumour you spread to get all those bounty hunters off your back, who in the name of Sokar could imagine that you'd be…"

He trailed off as the implications of their presence dawned on him. Though it had seemed impossible, his shoulders slumped even further. "Alright, what could you _possibly_ want _so_ badly that you'd sic the Tau'ri on me?"

Mitchell gave the others a dry look. "Nice to know we're the big guns, for a change." He faced Inago with his best menacing glare. "We want the money you stole from her, buddy."

The man affected an air of utter innocent. "_Stole_? Who do you take me for? I'm an honest businessman…"

"Save it, Inago." Vala crossed her arms. "You're the only one who knew about my little stash on the third moon of Laeto, so let's skip straight to the part where you admit you robbed me blind and give it back. Or…" she looked suggestively at Teal'c.

"Oh _that_ stash…" Inago cleared his throat, "well why didn't you say so? Yeah…I don't have that."

Vala narrowed her eyes. "Now, you wouldn't _lie_ to me, would you?" she said sweetly.

"Cut the niceties Vala, the auction's starting in less than an hour." Cam waved his weapon under the Jaffa's nose. "Give the lady what you owe her, and we'll be on our way."

Inago looked confused for a moment. "Auction?" Then understanding dawned again. "You're going to the Ata House auction! That's why you need the money? Well, I'm sorry but…" He trailed off, and his expression suddenly became calculated. "Right…" he said more slowly. "I'm sorry, but I can't give you back what was in that stash – come on, it was over a _year_ ago," he defended as the four weapons closed in on him again. "you know how this business is! And I thought you were dead! There was this crazy rumour about you and that giant Ori Chapa'ai and…"

He paused, his expression growing anxious again. "That wasn't true _also_, was it?...and that crazy hot chick who was blowing up planets left and right…? _Hilk'sha_!" His eyes widened in horror. "You didn't bring _her_ along too, did you?"

"I think you should be more worried about us," Daniel replied for her. "Now can we _please_ just have what you stole from Vala?"

"I don't have it anymore, honestly!" Inago swallowed hard, his expression vacillating between anxious and scheming. "Look, I can make you a deal…"

"_No_," Daniel and Cam said at the same time.

"I happened to have recently received a…payment…in naquadah ingots, very high quality. How about I give you that and we call it even?"

"I want my stash," Vala demanded. "It was worth a lot more than a bag of naquadah."

"Unfortunately, that's all I have right now," the Jaffa trader replied with a shrug, though he did still look shaky. "You could always agree to come back later, but if the Ata House auction's in an hour…"

She narrowed her eyes angrily at his obvious exploitation of their urgent need, but Mitchell signalled her to be quiet, and pulled her aside.

"That should be more than enough to bid on that converter. Just take it and let's go."

"That's far less than he owes me!" she protested.

"But it's all we need," Cam pointed out. "Twenty minutes ago we had nothing, so I say we don't question our luck and just go with it."

"_Luck_? This is Inago we're talking about, any deal he offers is guaranteed to be a fraud!"

The colonel looked back to where Inago stood, guarded by their three remaining team members. The Jaffa cowered slightly, casting panicked glances around and wiping nervously at the sweat that poured out of his every pore.

"I think he knows we mean business."

Vala looked doubtful. "Cameron, would you let me negotiate an actual –"

"We don't have _time_ for that," he argued. "The auction's about to start, and so far all your 'negotiating' has done is take us on this merry chase in the first place."

She gave him a worried look. "I know you think this is all my fault for not mentioning the blacklisting and giving away all our money, but…"

"Doesn't matter whose fault it is," Cam interrupted, "here's our chance – _only_ chance – to fix it…so just take the deal and we'll call it a day."

"I just need a few more minutes to make sure Inago's making a good deal…"

"Bagful of naquadah sounds like a good deal to me. And we don't _have_ a few more minutes." He sighed. "Look, I know the guy's ripping you off, but this is a 'beggars can't be choosers' type of scenario. This is our last shot at getting that converter. And we need to find out who the heck's been raiding those Area 51 storage units, and what they're planning."

* * *

Teal'c surrendered his weapon with a displeased look at the Ata House guard; much like the one who had first refused them entrance, this man, too, had a shaved head and the Goa'uld symbol for honour tattooed high on his brow.

"You know, a few years ago, it would've made me feel better to know that no one in this building is armed," Sam muttered as she held out a Zat to the guard. "Now I'm just worried that _we're_ unarmed."

"Yup, disturbing shift in perspective…" Daniel offered his own gun and took the small ticket offered in return.

Once they had all surrendered their weapons, Mitchell looked around and found it difficult to get his bearings in the crowded atrium.

"Okay, which way to our auction hall? Jackson, can you read the signs?"

"I believe we are required to go through one of the financial clerks, first." Teal'c had been inspecting a wall-sized list of rules that hung right by the door. "This indicates that they must inspect our form of payment and deem it to be in accordance with Ata House standards."

Vala peered inside the bag that Inago had given them, and chewed nervously on her bottom lip.

"What happens if the payment isn't good?" Sam asked.

"Then we would not be allowed to participate in the auction. Fines and further administrative penalties may also be assessed."

"Good thing we don't need to worry about that," Mitchell sounded optimistic, "the announcement said they take naquadah, right? Lead the way, Teal'c…"

It took another few minutes to clear the crowded entrance hall, after which a dark-haired man holding a holo-tablet directed them to one of the cashier-like windows. There, another tattooed behemoth held out a hand, and Vala hesitated for a second before handing over the bag full of naquadah. The man gave the bag a cursory inspection, before handing it back to her with a slow nod. Vala's eyebrows arched in surprise.

"What do you know, power coil guy made a straight deal after all," Mitchell commented as he led them away from the financial clerk.

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised to be honest," Daniel agreed, "guess we do get lucky sometimes."

But Vala did not look reassured. When none of them were watching, she stole another glance inside the bag, and the small frown between her eyebrows deepened.

"Maybe we shouldn't –"

"There," Daniel pointed to a door toward the far end of the corridor. "According to the signs, that's where the auction for the energy converter is being held."

Mitchell led the way at a brisk pace. "Alright, let's get this over with before something else goes wrong…"

Vala hesitated for another long moment, as though torn between following the team and going off on her own. When another gong rang, indicating that the auctions were about to start, she was forced to hurry down the corridor after the rest of them, one hand still clenched around the neck of the small bag that Inago had given them.

* * *

The auction hall was as large and elegant as the rest of the building, with rich tapestries covering the walls and warm lights reflecting off ornate chandeliers. Several items were exposed in their glass casings, and the auction participants were free to take another look, ask for further information or talk among themselves before the final gong rang and the auction officially started.

SG-1 was gathered around the casing that held the Ancient energy converter once more. There was little else to learn from just looking at it, though, so they were mostly making small talk waiting for their chance to bid, and hopefully learn, at long last, who had sold the stolen item to the Ata House.

"Those look like high quality control crystals," Vala smiled flirtatiously at a nearby man who wore several large crystals on a belt around his middle. "I might be persuaded to trade you one of these naquadah ingots for half of them."

The man looked interested, but Daniel grabbed her arm before she could negotiate further. "She's kidding," he waved off the stranger with the crystals, then pulled Vala back toward the rest of them. "What are you doing?"

She gave him an irritated glare. "I was _about_ to make an excellent trade."

"We had to go jump through _hoops_ to get that naquadah, and now you want to risk _losing_ it?"

"Between the two of us, I think I'm just _a little_ better at knowing how to negotiate a good deal," Vala said haughtily.

"Last deal you 'negotiated' lost us half the year's budget."

"It got us into the auction," she countered.

"Yes, and need I remind you the reason we had to pay to get in _in the first place_?"

"Would you two cut it out before you get us thrown out." Mitchell's loud whisper pre-empted any further exchange, and he gave Vala a warning look. "I don't care how bored you are, we're not making any more deals with that naquadah."

"Naquadah is such a tasteless form of payment," she commented in return, "I'm sure our bid would be much better received if –"

"_No_."

Vala exhaled slowly, then gave up with a shrug. She took another look at the converter. "Do we even _really_ need to buy this thing? It doesn't look all that valuable."

Mitchell's nostrils flared. "_Please..._tell me you're joking." He shook his head in exasperation. "What we _really_ need is the intel on who sold it to them, remember? Bad guys, stealing advanced Ancient technologies from Earth? Sending 'em off on ships in the middle of the night? Big conspiracy?" He pointed to the converter. "Only lead so far?"

"You know…if we're being honest, this doesn't really seem like such a great lead."

The colonel stared at her incredulously.

"What?" She gave an innocent shrug. "It doesn't even work. We don't have the power source. I think we should –"

The final gong covered the rest of her words. Once the sound had faded, Vala tried to say something else, but was summarily shushed and they all fell silent as the auction began.

* * *

It was over surprisingly quickly. There were only three items in that particular auction hall, the Ancient energy converter, a set of power crystals and some tablet that presumably contained directions to another Ancient repository. Out of those, the converter was the least popular, most likely due to the fact that it lacked a viable power source. A few other guests bid on it, but since none of them were as desperate as SG-1 to get it, Daniel's offer of all the naquadah in the bag (Vala had protested each time he had raised the bid, and had been promptly ignored each time) finally won out.

As the auction ended, the transaction manager, a dark-haired man in an expensive-looking jacket, walked over to them to collect the payment before their item could be delivered.

"We can't pay them that," Vala protested again in an urgent whisper.

"Vala, we already went over this, this ain't about making a good deal, it's about getting the intel we need. So settle down." Mitchell tried to take the bag from her grasp so he could give it to the Ata House representative. But Vala held on tight.

"_No_," her eyes widened emphatically, "you don't understand. Once you hand this over, the payment is considered done on our part, and _then_ it's too late to change our minds."

"That's _fine_," he yanked a little harder and she had to let go of the bag, "because we're not _changing_ our minds." He walked over to meet the transaction manager.

"No –"

"Here. About…ten pounds of naquadah, as promised." Cam held out the bag to the transaction agent.

"Wait‼"

Vala's cry startled everyone. Mitchell's hand hesitated, the bag halfway between him and the transaction agent. They both looked at her.

The woman swallowed hard. "Er – I didn't check that naquadah when I got it," she said quickly. "We'd like a moment to make sure our form of payment is…in order, before completing the transaction."

The Ata House representative's eyes narrowed. "You have initiated the transaction when you bid for the item," he warned. "It is too late now to turn back."

"Right…" Vala cleared her throat. "Can we just have a minute?"

The dark-haired man nodded, and there was the slightest derisive curl to the corner of his lips. "One minute."

SG-1 retreated a small distance away, and Mitchell immediately rounded on Vala.

"What the _hell_ was that?"

Vala returned a wary grimace. "We can't use that naquadah to pay the Ata House."

"We can't –" Understanding finally dawned for Cam. "Oh son of a – it's _fake_? You tried to pawn off fake naquadah to the uncheatable ninja auction house?"

"No –"

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "So Inago did double-cross us…why am I not surprised?"

But Mitchell cared less about the Jaffa trader's actions than he did about Vala's. "What the hell were you thinking! If you knew it was fake, _why_ didn't you say something _earlier_?"

"Because there was no time to get something else and you said we really needed to buy that converter!" she defended "I didn't mean to pay _them_ with it, I was going to swap it for one of the other bidders payment forms, but Daniel had to go make a scandal and scared my buyer away before I got a chance to do it!"

"Well maybe if you'd mentioned _why_ you were trying to get rid of the naquadah –" the archaeologist began, but Sam interrupted.

"Er, we only have one minute," she reminded them, "and I think our friend is about to come back for his payment."

Daniel cast a worried glance to the Ata House transaction agent, who was staring at them from across the room. "We can't pay them with fake naquadah, they'll figure it out and then they'll kill us!"

"I'm thinking!" Vala said anxiously.

"Yeah, we don't have time for that." Cam looked understandably angry about the unexpected development. "We'll just tell them this was all a big mistake and they can keep their energy converter and we'll leave quietly."

"I do not believe that will be acceptable." Teal'c, too, looked concerned. "As the transaction agent pointed out, we have committed to purchasing the item when we placed the highest bid."

"Damn it," Cam's expression grew even more frustrated, and he spared Vala an irritated glance. "Okay people, suggestions, now!"

"We could make a break for it," Sam offered with a quick look at the door.

"No weapons, no idea what the layout of this building is, lots of trained fighters with big guns." Daniel sighed. "Let's maybe keep that as a last resort."

Teal'c raised his chin. "Vala Mal Doran has pointed out that they accept labour hours as a form of payment. I could offer to –"

"Yeah, we're not selling you, Teal'c. _Or_ you," Cam grumbled when Vala opened her mouth, "not that it wouldn't be poetic justice, but I want you on hand so I can _throttle_ you _myself_ when this is all over."

"Heads up," Daniel said quietly, as the transaction agent walked back over to them.

"Your payment is due," the dark-haired man informed them. "The item you have bought is ready."

Mitchell cleared his throat. "Uh…listen, about that…any chance we can…work out a payment plan?"

"The Ata House does not accept instalment payments."

"How about an alternative form of payment?"

The transaction agent took a step forward and motioned some of the guards over. Around the large hall, people were starting to stare.

"The agreed upon payment was twelve ingots of pure naquadah," the man said loudly, a menacing glint in his eyes. " You will provide that now, or you will be considered delinquent in holding up your end of the deal. The deals are done with honour," he quoted, and a corner of his mouth curled upward in a derisive sneer.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone reading this, and to the rest of the VS team for their invaluable help! **


	16. Dead Blind, pt 4

**Dead Blind, part 4**

Mitchell held up his hands as the four guards lifted their weapons. The naquadah bag dropped to the floor.

"Whoa, okay, hang on a minute –"

The transaction agent pulled on the edges of his jacket, the look in his eyes ruthless. All other Ata House guests in the hall had quickly moved aside, forming a wide circle around SG-1 and the armed guards.

"This is all a misunderstanding," Cam hurried to say. "Listen, uh…what was your name again?"

The transaction agent ignored his question. "Do you refuse to provide payment for the item that was auctioned to you?"

"It has come to our attention that the item that you sell is of questionable origin." Teal'c stepped forward, thinking quickly.

"False. All our items are –"

"The energy converter was stolen from the Tau'ri."

With a nod from the transaction agent, the guards moved closer. "The Ata House has purchased the item legally, and has all supporting documentation to prove it."

The team drew closer to each other in turn, but they were unarmed and alone against a building full of highly trained security guards. They now had a large audience, too. In addition to the guests who had gathered to witness the incident, other Ata House employees were trickling into the room. Some of them wore the symbol sewn onto their tunics, others had ushers' uniforms or the plain black outfit of the security division.

The guards maintained a relaxed grip on their weapons, proof of their discipline and complete confidence that they had the situation under control. Until the transaction agent gave the order, they would remain at ease. But their casual air and laid-back stance did nothing to reassure SG-1.

"You not only refuse to pay as agreed, but you are attempting to justify your deceit with unfounded accusations." The agent raised his chin, and again there was a hint of satisfaction behind the hostility in his eyes as he stepped closer to them, secure in the knowledge that the guards were at his back. "You are not abiding by the Ata House primary rule for business. All those who act as you do must be used as an example for others."

As if on some unspoken cue, the guards raised their weapons and trained them on the team.

"Wait!" Vala pushed to break free from the rest of the team until she stood right in front of the agent. "They didn't have anything to do with it! It's my fault, make an example out of me but leave them out of it!"

"You have all conspired to conduct this deal without honour. That is against the Ata House directive. This must remain a secure business environment."

"But –"

"By refusing to provide the payment for your purchase, you have brought this on yourselves."

The guards fingers moved to the triggers.

"We already paid you the sum!" Sam's sudden, loud cry held just the right mixture of panic and indignation. "This is a violation!"

Murmurs erupted from the other clients in the hall.

"You have refused payment," the agent countered. "Lying will not help you now."

But Sam nodded to a spot behind him. "Uhm, your men are holding the agreed-upon ten bars of naquadah, _our_ bars of naquadah! And you're trying to shoot us without giving us the item we bought!"

The transaction agent almost snapped his neck as he turned his head to check her claim. He saw that one of the Ata House employees in an usher's uniform had imprudently picked up the bag of naquadah that had lain discarded on the floor. Under the transaction agent's furious glare, the man immediately dropped the bag, but it was too late.

Vala hurried to capitalize on the unexpected break. "The Ata House received the money we offered, and payment has been initiated!" She spoke loudly, making sure all the other clients heard, and fixed the agent with a challenging look. "If you shoot us now, you're breaking your own rules."

The dark-haired man took an angry step toward her, but stopped as he heard the increased whispering of the people in the room. A dangerous hatred glinted in his eyes for just a second. Then he motioned the guards to come closer.

"Take them below," he snarled. "We shall check your form of payment. And if it proves to be unacceptable, as I suspect it will…then I believe we shall see you again," he promised, his voice holding an unmistakable threat.

* * *

Unlike the majestic auction hall above, the room they were taken to was hardly the size of a modest office, and the only furnishings were a desk, a couple chairs and some old carpets. Nothing that could be used as a weapon. The room had no windows, either. The only way out seemed to be the door, which SG-1 knew was guarded heavily on the other side.

"Good thinking up there, Sam." Mitchell gave her an appreciative nod. "You saved our skins."

"Probably not for long, though…" She put down the chair she had been inspecting, having decided that none of its legs made a viable weapon. "If that naquadah really is fake, they'll be back for us."

If Sam looked concerned, it was nothing compared to Vala, whose eyes were wide with unspoken distress. "I'll figure a way out of this," she promised. She crossed the room with three quick steps and banged loudly on the door. "Hello! I want to talk to the person in charge! I want to talk to Anwar!"

When no reply came, she knocked again, and a third time, until Daniel caught her wrist. "I don't think they're listening," he said quietly.

Vala turned to face them, the same silent anxiety in her gaze. She opened her mouth to speak…

"You can apologize later." Mitchell cut her off before she got even a word out. "As soon as we've figured out how to _get_ from now to later in one piece."

"I thought their rules said they assess _fines_ for bad payment." Sam remembered Teal'c's earlier explanation. "What happened to 'administrative penalties'?!"

"Those rules apply to payment that is deemed unacceptable by the financial clerk _before_ the guest bids on an item," the Jaffa clarified. "Once the bid has been made, if the buyer refuses to provide the agreed-upon payment, the infraction is considered far more severe."

"Yeah, isn't that kind of scenario exactly _why_ they have people checking the payment forms before the auctions _in the first place_?" Mitchell shook his head. "How the heck did we get the one incompetent clerk who can't tell fake naquadah?"

"Maybe we can use that as a defence," Daniel suggested, his own voice laced with concern.

They could heard heavy footsteps outside, and a second later the door opened. The transaction agent entered, followed by Anwar and a couple of guards. The rest of the security team waited outside.

Vala immediately pushed to the front of their group again.

"They didn't know about this." She looked straight at Anwar. "If your Ata House is as honourable as you say, you won't kill innocent people. I'm the one who brought them here, I'm the one who caused all this, they thought it was a straight deal from beginning to end."

The transaction agent sniggered derisively. "You were all co-conspirators." He pointed to Mitchell. "This one all but handed me the false payment."

"No!" Vala protested anxiously. "I gave it to him! He didn't know!" She looked ready to grab the man by the shoulders and shake him until he understood. "None of them knew! This is all on me."

"Okay that's enough." Daniel pulled her back as the guards were getting twitchy. "I still don't think they're listening."

Anwar gave her a genuinely disappointed look. "You should have taken the blacklisting as a warning," he told her, then gave a small nod to the armed men. "Take them upstairs. They will be dealt with in full view of the - "

"No!"

Still restraining Vala with one arm, Daniel tried to push the guard away. "We'd like a trial!"

"There are no trials here," Anwar replied quietly. "We have offered you the chance at an honourable deal. You have refused it. You knew the consequences."

"Yeah, we didn't _refuse_ the deal," Mitchell argued as the guards tried to push them out of the room, "we _want_ to pay! It's just that our…finances were not as reliable as we thought!"

"Your men checked the naquadah before letting us in," added Daniel. "We thought it was good once it passed their inspection! Hey –" he protested as the transaction agent gave him a rough shove out the door.

One of the guards raised the butt of his weapon, but Anwar lifted a hand. The Ata House member's expression was guarded.

"Who checked your naquadah?" he asked calmly.

"Uhm…tall guy," Cam replied. "Shaved head. Tattoo…Big gun." He groaned as he realized that this described pretty much half the security and inspection forces of the Ata House.

"He had a gold ring on his right thumb, and it was missing a stone, right of the centre gem," Vala said quickly.

Anwar and the transaction agent exchanged a glance.

"Please summon Fan," Anwar asked one of the guards, then he nodded for the rest of the security team to remain outside the room. "We may be unarmed, but do not attempt to attacks us, please," he warned SG1. "I assure you that even if you defeat me, you will not make it up those steps alive."

"Don't look relieved," the agent said darkly, his eyes darting between SG-1 and the closed door. "Your lies buy you only little time."

Anwar nodded in agreement, as he fixed them with a penetrating gaze. "If you are lying, I will know."

* * *

It took only a few minutes for the guard to return, followed by the same tall, tattooed behemoth who had inspected the much-disputed bag of naquadah. The man nodded respectfully to Anwar and the agent, although his expression became slightly confused as he lay eyes on the tense-looking SG1.

"Fan," Anwar started, "these guests have refused payment, then attempted to pay with false naquadah."

Fan's expression grew stony. "The deals are made with honour," he stated proudly. "They must serve as an example to others."

The Ata House member nodded slowly. "My thoughts exactly." He turned and gave the team an unsympathetic look. "It is as I said."

"Ask him how we got the false naquadah past him!" Vala insisted.

"The woman lies!" roared Fan. "I have not seen false naquadah."

"Whoa," Mitchell held up his hands, "_someone_ definitely checked that bag."

"It was him," Vala said simply. "He's just lying about it now…" Her eyes narrowed, and a hint of suspicion began to replace her previous panic. "…and people don't lie without a reason."

"A valid point," Anwar agreed pleasantly.

"Ata-Anwar," the transaction agent addressed the man the formal way, a hint of disbelief in his voice. "You cannot take her word over Fan's."

"Of course not," the Ata House representative assured, the same serene expression in his dark eyes. "I was merely noting that she makes a valid point. People do have a reason when they lie. _Her_ reason is that she does not want her companions to die." He crossed his arms, and for the first time there was a hint of something else behind the calm gaze he fixed on the transaction agent. "_Your_ reason, I would not see."

Vala shook out of Daniel's grip. "Tell me who brought you the energy converter," she asked of Anwar. "Tell me who in the Ata House bought it from the previous owner."

"You're not in a position to make demands," the transaction agent snarled, but she ignored him.

"Does _he_ work for the person who acquired it?" she pointed at Fan.

Anwar and the agent exchanged another glance.

"He does, doesn't he?" Vala stared at the tall clerk, his tattoo standing out on his glistening forehead. "He _must_ have known that you'd discover the fake naquadah after we won the auction. He let us through with it because someone _told_ him to. So the Ata House would have an excuse to execute us!"

"An astonishing tale," Anwar smiled.

"You _know_ it's true," she fixed the man with a determined gaze. "We came here looking for clues as to who's been stealing from the Tau'ri homeworld. Whoever brought you that Ancient converter must not want us to find out the truth…and they're using the Ata House rules to get rid of us."

Their gazes remained locked even as Anwar's smile turned darker. Vala swallowed hard as she spoke the next words.

"And if this person is making acquisitions for your auctions, while at the same time plotting against the Tau'ri...either the Ata House has abandoned its claim of neutrality, or you have a spy in your midst."

The guards, disciplined as they were, let out grunts of indignation at Vala's accusation, and the rest of the team moved to close ranks around her. But before anyone had a chance to take two steps, there was a sudden commotion.

Everything seemed to happen at once.

At Anwar's impercetible nod, one of the two guards in the room raised his weapon and fired at Fan. The behemoth managed to dodge a killing shot but fell injured to the ground, his massive body causing the stone floor to vibrate. A moment later, the second guard shot back at the first, but missed.

SG-1 instinctively ducked for cover, but there was really no place to go, the room was too small and sparsely furnished. Teal'c tipped the desk over and pulled Sam out of the crossfire.

Footsteps boomed on the stairs outside the room as the remaining guards heard the shots.

The transaction agent drew a small weapon of his own and aimed it straight at Anwar. Vala pulled the Ata House representative out of the way just in time, and they crashed to the floor as she tripped against the leg of the upended desk. The agent fired again in their direction, but his aim was off as the first guard charged him. He summarily dispatched the man, then as the door to the room exploded inward, rushed out and up the stairs.

Four more guards poured in, their weapons at the ready.

"_Trajan, chel shak nok, di'ankh kree_! _Dje'neb_!*" Anwar shoved Vala off him and sat up. Following his words, two of the guards ran out after the transaction agent.

"No, not them!" His angry tone stopped the other two just short of shooting Teal'c and Daniel. Anwar stood and rushed to the door, shouting orders as he marched. "They remain safe in this room until I return!"

The two men nodded, immediately turning their backs on SG-1 to guard the door.

Mitchell held out a hand to Sam, who got up from behind the upturned desk. Once he gave everyone a silent once-over and ascertained that they were uninjured, the SG1 leader stared at the remains of the small office, the dead bodies of the two guards from earlier and the injured Fan who sat silently in a corner.

"Sam, if we get that Ancient energy converter at the end of all this…_please_ use it to save the planet and make it worth all the trouble."

Daniel cleared his throat as he, too, took in the destruction around them. "Uhm, I was a little distracted at the time but…did Anwar by any chance refer to that transaction agent as Trajan?"

* * *

Mitchell leaned a shoulder against the ornate tapestry that covered the wall of the richly decorate office , and gave Anwar an incredulous look. "So, our forced labour naquadah mine Lucian is actually an _Ata House member_?"

"At least that explains why he wanted us executed," Sam had accepted the invitation to sit in one of the cushioned chairs across the curly-haired man's desk. "We did blow up his entire operation just a couple of weeks ago…"

Anwar's eyes narrowed. "Merely an employee, not a member of our Honoured House. But yes," he admitted, "the man who has worked for us for the past five years as a transaction agent was in fact a Lucian Alliance spy."

"That's impressive, really." Vala's tone was humorous, though it still held a note of her earlier apprehension. "Every trader out there dreams of having an inside source within the Ata House, and I don't think anyone's ever done it before the Lucians."

"There was the System Lord Acqus," Anwar provided, "five hundred and thirteen years ago."

Daniel frowned thoughtfully. "I don't think I've ever heard of him…"

"Exactly," the Ata House member said with ominous calm, and Daniel's eyebrows arched as he understood the implication.

"Right…"

"So, don't take this the wrong way, and I really appreciate that you're not planning to _shoot_ us anymore…" Mitchell gave Anwar an incredulous look, "but how did you not figure out that he was a spy in five years?"

"He did not act as a spy," the elegant Ata House member said simply. "I believe Trajan's rank within the Alliance was extremely low until recently," he explained. "His only worth to the Lucian leaders must have been that we occasionally employed him as a transaction agent. An informer, a spy, but with no real mission to fulfill." He shrugged. "Therefore, he acted in accordance with the Ata House rules, and preserved our interests in his transactions."

"Until he tried to shoot you," Daniel added, and a small smile curled Anwar's lips.

"Until that, yes." The man adopted a thoughtful expression. "Although I had developed doubts about him over the past year, when he brought in items far more frequently than before. All of them of Ancient origin."

"That would be the stuff he stole from Earth. Thanks, by the way," Cam gave an appreciative nod, "for giving us all the records of his transactions."

Anwar returned the nod. "We did not realize that the payments Trajan supposedly made to the original owners were in fact kept for himself."

"Most likely funding his…extracurricular efforts," the colonel theorized. "Too bad he got away, we could've really used some intel on who his DC buddies are…"

The look in Anwar's eyes was icy as he replied. "He will be caught. The Ata House does not forget."

"You might want to make a move before he takes control of the whole Alliance," Vala suggested casually. "What," she defended as they all looked at her with varying degrees of surprise, "that's clearly his intention. Why else would he go to all the trouble?"

"I agree," the curly-haired man nodded. "Trajan spent four years in the lowest ranks of the Alliance, but with the sudden gap in leadership, he has found an opportunity to amass power. I do not know how the Tau'ri factor in his plans," he admitted, "but you would do well to beware. Trajan is cunning, resourceful and ruthless. He will make a difficult enemy…until we find him," he finished softly, his eyes flashing the same ominous promise.

With those words, Anwar stood up from behind his desk, indicating that their brief chat was over. Sam and Daniel also got up from their seats.

"I hope you understand why you will be escorted out quietly through one of the staff entrances," he smiled pleasantly. "I will accompany you there personally."

* * *

Led by Anwar, SG1 took a roundabout route to the exit, avoiding the main auction halls and the corridors still milling with Ata House clients. As their secondary corridor neared one of the large atriums, however, they could hear a solemn, merciless voice coming from within.

" –serve as an example. The deals are done with honour."

"The deals are done with honour," a familiar voice replied in a tired, resigned tone.

Mitchell stopped as they passed right by the atrium. Through the open doors, he could see a crowd gathered, just like it had a couple of hours earlier when Trajan had been about to order them executed for bad payment. Except this time, the security men's weapons were trained on Fan. The financial clerk stood tall, his injured arm still bleeding.

"We should move on," Anwar prompted, and they could tell from his tone it was more than just a friendly suggestion.

The SG1 leader took another few steps, then turned to say something. Before he could utter a word, however, the sound of weapons fire rang out briefly. Next to him, Sam closed her eyes for a second, her expression sad.

"Whoa –that was your own man!" Cam looked accusingly at the Ata House representative. "He was just following orders. He didn't know Trajan was a Lucian spy –"

"I know." Anwar looked calm, but for a dark glint in his eye. "Fan followed an order to allow false payment into an auction, and then he lied about it. That is against the Ata House directive of honesty in business. He has paid the price we would exact of any of us, or any of our clients, for the same breach."

"But he didn't –"

"I know who the responsible party is here, Colonel Mitchell," the man assured him quietly. "This is but one more debt Trajan will pay when his time comes. Now please…this way."

They walked the rest of the way quietly, as no one was in the mood for conversation after what they had just witnessed. Finally, they came to a small door, and Anwar used a key around his neck to open it. It opened to the outside, and a few hundred yards away they could see the path that led to the stargate. Their goodbye was brief and quiet, but as the team was ready to head over to the path, the Ata House representative caught Vala's elbow.

"If you will wait for a moment," his demeanour was all-business, "I have a message to deliver on behalf of the Ata House."

Her body immediately tensed up. But Anwar released her once he had her attention. Hesitantly, Vala signalled the rest of SG1 to give the two of them a moment, although it reassured her greatly that they were only a few yards away.

"Were you injured when Trajan escaped?" Anwar asked calmly. "I did not have time to check then, but I do not forget that you pulled me out of the way when he attempted to kill me."

"You're welcome," she replied, still cautious. "And I'm fine, thanks."

He nodded, thoughtful. "You have behaved…differently from what I expected, given your reputation in our circles. And your companions have done a great service to the Ata House today."

"They were innocent from the start," she reiterated. "They didn't know about any of this. They wanted to make an honest deal."

"I believe that. You, on the other hand…" he gave her a meaningful look.

Vala stayed silent, and lifted her chin defiantly.

"Consider yourself blacklisted permanently from any Ata House dealings," Anwar spoke in an official voice. "If you so much as ask permission to enter an auction again, you will be killed on sight. If you attempt to contact us through intermediaries, _they_ will be killed on sight – innocent or not. This extremely rare set of circumstances will never reoccur. In short," he held her gaze, "if I ever lay eyes on you again, you will die."

Vala nodded.

Anwar's lips curled again in the slightest smile. "I sincerely hope that we do not meet again, Vala Mal Doran."

* * *

_Epilogue_

General Landry turned the Ancient energy converted in his hands, looking at it from all angles. "For something that came so expensive," he flashed Vala a dry sideways glance, "I was expecting it to be bigger. Or at least functional."

"Well, it was never about the device itself, Sir, it was about finding out who nicked it from us."

"So it was, Colonel," Landry agreed, and he placed the converted back on the briefing room table. "So this Trajan is the same Lucian who was behind the mining operation with the Argonians, and he's been stealing the Ancient technologies from us?"

"Well, probably not him directly," Daniel offered, "but I think there's a good chance he's the one that those mercenaries in the Tel'tak worked for."

"The list of items that we got from Anwar matches pretty closely with our list of missing items," Sam added, "and the list of acquisition dates more or less matches the dates that we think that Tel'tak travelled to Earth before we caught it."

"More or less?" Landry prompted.

Sam frowned as she re-read the notes in front of her. "There always seems to be a time gap between when we think the Tel'tak picked up a new transport from Earth, and when an Ancient item entered the Ata House inventory via Trajan. The gap is usually about a couple of months long."

"Which begs the question," Mitchell leaned forward in his seat, "what was he _doing_ with those Ancient technologies during those couple of months?"

"Maybe he didn't want to sell them while they were still hot," Daniel proposed. "Isn't it common to wait a little before fencing stolen items?"

He instinctively turned an inquisitive look on Vala, but she stayed quiet, and sat uncharacteristically straight and business-like in her seat, darting occasional wary glances at Landry.

"Dr. Lee and I will be looking at the list of items," Sam said, "see if we can figure out what they have in common and what he might have been doing with them."

"Good. Let me know as soon as you have something," Landry nodded, then pushed his seat back preparing to stand. "Dismissed."

The atmosphere in the room relaxed instantly.

"I'm telling you Sam," Cam got up from his own chair, "they're building something."

She rolled her eyes. "None of the items on the list is exactly superweapon material."

"I don't know," Daniel looked thoughtful, "then how do you explain Jack's big honkin' space gun at that naquadah mine?"

"Not the first one we've seen, and not a superweapon."

"It's the Lucians," Mitchell pointed out, "it wouldn't surprise me if they wanted a superweapon."

"It's _one_ Lucian," she countered, "and you heard Anwar, until last year he was nobody."

"Yeah, and then he made some friends on Earth and opened up a big Ancient hardware store…"

"Ms Mal Doran."

Vala grimaced as she heard Landry's voice behind her just as she was about to inconspicuously slip out of the conference room. She turned to give the General an innocent smile.

His expression was stony. "Walk with me to my office."

She groaned as she followed him out.

* * *

Vala felt her cheeks burning, and there was a hard knot in her stomach. It had been a while since she had been yelled at like that. Actually, the last person to try it had probably been Daniel, but before the Tau'ri she could not remember the last time she had been reamed out quite that viciously. Maybe that Tok'ra, that one time… but General Landry had far surpassed that.

The General was angry. He was very angry - in fact she could see a vein on his temple throbbing through most of their conversation. Or rather, through most of his monologue, because she had not been able to get much of a word in.

Not that she had much to say for herself. She'd tried, she honestly had, but somehow it had all become one monumental mess. No wonder Landry was furious with her. Oh and things were so much worse than any of them knew. So, so much worse. Feeling unwanted tears come to her eyes, Vala bit her lips, and realized she was still standing with her back against Landry's closed door.

She took a deep breath and started to walk down the corridor. Her thoughts whirled chaotically, fearful and mortified and angry, and she tried again to find a solution because _every_thing had a solution, or so she had always told herself. Only this time –

"Hey."

She almost bumped into Daniel, who had intercepted her a little way down the corridor from Landry's office.

"If you want to lecture me too, now's _not_ a good time," she warned, more belligerently than she had intended.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Uhm, no, I think Landry pretty much hit all the main points." He grimaced when she looked up in surprise, and admitted: "His voice carries…"

Vala groaned and quickened her step, but Daniel increased his own pace to keep up.

"No, I just wanted to see how you were doing," he told her. "It's been a tough day."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know," she enumerated impatiently, "because I didn't tell you about the blacklist and about the naquadah and I gave away all our money –"

"Uhm – well, yes, _technically_," Daniel shook his head, "but that's not really where I was going with this…"

"I was just trying to help!"

"I know," he assured her, "next time, maybe...tell the truth a little earlier…"

Vala glared at him again, though she still did not stop walking. "If I'd told the truth earlier, I wouldn't have been allowed on the mission in the first place, and who knows what you and Cameron would've done."

Daniel caught the door to the stairs as she flung it open, too worked up to wait for an elevator.

"Yeah…that's exactly the kind of thinking that got you that lecture from Landry."

Vala stopped halfway down the first step and turned to give him an incredulous look. "Is this supposed to be making me feel better? Because it's not _working_."

Daniel grimaced. "Right – no," he admitted. "Uhm…actually, I thought maybe you wanted to have this." He held out his open hand, and there was a thimble-sized trinket in it, its shine somewhat dulled by time and dust.

She looked nonplussed. "That's a golden token from the Hebridan system," she frowned in confusion, "how did you even get…" She trailed off as the answer dawned on her.

"It was in that cave you flew us to," Daniel confirmed in a low voice. "Guess Inago must've missed it when he cleaned you out."

Vala bit her lower lip, and raised her gaze to meet his. Daniel held his palm closer, motioning for her to pick up the token. After a moment she did, and she rolled it between two fingers, her eyes growing sad.

"It really isn't that valuable," she said hoarsely, "but well, gold _is_ gold…"

Daniel sighed, a little exasperated. "True," he agreed, "but what I'm really getting at here is that…" He waited for her to look at him again, before continuing, "…you didn't need that stash anyway."

Vala gave a bitter laugh. "Those were all my savings, Daniel. Are you planning to give me that little gold plastic card of yours along with this?" she held up the animal-shaped token.

"_No_," he said patiently, "but if you want…you can start a savings account – the _legal_ variety, even – here, on Earth." He smiled at her startled look, and joked. "The joys of having a steady income."

Vala swallowed hard. "I…don't know if the General will agree with me making any long-term investments on your lovely planet."

He sighed again. "Vala, he's just angry. Plus it's kinda his job to yell at us when we…" He stopped just in time, before enumerating once more the many things that had earned her Landry's lecture. "Anyway… if you want, I can help you open a savings account... not that I really know a lot _about_ that," he realized belatedly, with a thoughtful frown, "maybe we should ask Teal'c, he read about fifty personal finance books when he first moved here…"

Vala averted her eyes, still looking uncertain. She looked at the small golden token between her thumb and forefinger, and bit her lips again.

"And if you still want to do it, we can look at apartment listings too…"

Her chin dropped to her chest, and when it came back up, there was a small, almost reluctant smile at the corners of her lips. Her hand closed around the little animal-shaped token.

"Thank you, Daniel," she said softly.

"Dr. Jackson!" Daniel jumped as a woman's voice called out to him from the corridor. Until then, he had not realized that he was still holding the stairs door open.

Vala, too, had heard the call, and she glanced warily in the direction of the woman's voice. "I have to go," she said. "Thanks for the…financial advice." She smiled a brief smile, then turned before he could say anything, and hurried down the steps, vanishing from sight only a few moments later.

* * *

She was breathing hard by the time she reached her room. Vala closed the door behind her, locked it, and ran straight for the closet. She wrenched the door open with fevered urgency, and pushed aside the sundresses and coats that she had bought a few months before with Sam, and the shoes that she sometimes ordered off the internet, and a few boxes of trinkets that she did not even remember gathering. There, at the back of her closet, was an old leather over-the-shoulder bag, the same one she had had when she had first come to Earth two years before. She pulled it out of the closet with a fierce tug.

It rested next to her on the floor, and with shaking hands she undid the straps that held it closed. An old leather outfit was stuffed in there, and she pulled it out, then a broken lock pick and a coiled length of rope, a vest and some gloves, a couple of old data discs and some personal pieces of gaudy jewelry that were barely worth anything. She took everything out of the bag, her breath coming out in unsteady rasps, until finally there was a pile of carelessly discarded items on the floor next to her, and the bag was empty.

Then Vala reached in and undid a secret pocket at the bottom of the bag. Her eyes widened, then she squeezed them shut. When her hands came out of the now truly empty bag, she was holding a large spherical crystal, and the light from her floor lamp reflected softly off its polished surface, giving it a dim glow. She opened her eyes and stared at it for a long moment, her anxious heartbeat echoing loudly in her own ears.

_The End_

* * *

* Approximate translation for the Goa'uld phrase. "Trajan, dead if you must, alive if you can! Tell everyone, now!"

**Phew! This was a long one. I briefly toyed with the idea of making the epilogue a separate chapter, but eventually decided not to. Still, if there are any glaring errors in the text, they're my fault entirely for (among other things) lots of indecisive copy/pasting! **

**Thanks to everyone who is reading this. As always, we love to hear from you. Writing this is a huge investment, and it makes us happy to know people are enjoying it! **

**And of course my own thanks to the rest of the VS team for editing, writing, reading and brainstorming all of this! (for this chapter in particular, thanks to Myosotis for helping with the Goa'uld language, and to Tel nok shock for her 'big honkin' space gun' catch!) **


	17. Irreparable Differences, pt 1

**This update took a little longer, partially bc I've been busy babysitting my two adorable but totally exhausting cousins. Turns out, two- and three-year-olds don't like it when you sit at a computer and don't pay attention to them! The only reason I'm allowed to post this now is because I'm also loudly singing an odd and absurd little ditty called 'rolly polly'... for what feels like the fiftieth time. I've also become quite adept at 'row row row your boat'. Maybe that'll buy me enough time to actually reply to a few emails!**

**Irreparable Differences, pt. 1**

The screen flickered once, then settled back to a crisp image, the video quality sharp enough that Landry could see a stray thread sticking out on the collar of his interlocutor's uniform. The SGC General silently pondered how far technology had come. Only ten years previous, he would have had the current conversation over the phone; now he could stare the other man in the eye as though they were in the same room, although they were a thousand miles apart.

" –_ruled out everyone at Homeworld…and boy would _that_'ve been awkward_." At the other end of the video call, Major General Jack O'Neill gave one of his humorous grimaces.

"Didn't really think it was your boys at Homeworld Security who were helping Lucians steal our Ancient artefacts," Landry replied, and Jack received the comment with an appreciative nod. "Unless you're not paying them all those extra hours they spend chasing crop circles…"

One of Jack's eyebrows inched up. "_Well, we can't all go breaking the IOA piggy bank..._" His expression grew more sympathetic at Landry's exasperated groan. "_At least you got some useful intel out of it. All we've turned up after two months of snooping is a bunch of extramarital affairs and a few IOA scientists with disturbingly life-like robotic…er, lady friends_."

Landry grimaced. "I don't want to know. So, no luck on finding out who's been stealing the Ancient technologies from Area 51?"

Jack shook his head. "_Trail's gone cold. We've caught on to these bastards too late, they stopped nicking the stuff after Daniel and I broke up their little party in the woods_."

"There's gonna be some record somewhere that points to the culprit," Landry offered. "There's no such thing as the perfect crime…"

"_Doesn't need to be perfect_," Jack grumbled, "_just buried under a big enough pile of paperwork that it's impossible to track down. There's a couple dozen people with access to those storage units," _he explained_, "not counting drivers, guards and a whole score of IOA and White House personnel with knowledge of Area 51_." He shook his head. "_I'm thinking we might need to buy another vowel before we figure this one out._"

"What about the Chinese IOA representative, Shen Xiaoyi?"

"_She's been under surveillance for weeks, but hasn't even run a red light so far. Starting to think she might actually be clean_."

Landry pursed his lips, his expression displeased. "_Someone_ from DC was in those woods, Jack, and they weren't working alone."

"_You ask me, this smells like the reformed Trust. Slippery little bastards just like last time._"

The SGC General gave a lopsided nod. "It sounds like their MO. Stolen technology from secure facilities, clandestine transports in the middle of the night, kidnapping attempts…"

"_Only thing missing's some snakehead pulling the strings_."

"There's Athena," Landry pointed out. "Are we sure no one in the President's entourage or the IOA has been…compromised?"

But Jack shook his head emphatically. "_After Kinsey, we learned to screen the big bosses, make sure we know who's behind the wheel_." He arched his eyebrows. "_They get scanned and poked every few weeks, so unless the Goa'uld learned how to become invisible and stop bleedin' naquadah into their hosts, I'm pretty sure our top DC crew are all exactly who they're supposed to be. Which doesn't stop the majority of them from being pompous asses,_" he muttered, then made a big show of looking around. "_Geez, I _hope_ this is a secure line. Wouldn't wanna hurt anyone's _feelings_._"

Landry smirked, then his expression grew serious again. "Over the past couple weeks, I sent SG-5 and SG-12 to several planets in Lucian territories. Both brought back the same rumours – after Netan's death, there were a few well-positioned Lucian leaders who tried to take over, but none of them could get the upper hand."

"_Too much to hope that they'll just kill each other and save us the trouble…?_" Jack asked dryly.

"Sadly, yes. They seem to have formed an…executive council, or sorts, a ruling body that's currently governing Lucian affairs. But from what my teams hear, the situation's unstable."

"_Just ready for someone like your new buddy Tristan to swoop in and become the new Marlon Brando_."

"Trajan," Landry corrected. "And I'm planning to stop him before he has a chance to take over the Alliance and come charging at Earth." His eyebrows arched ironically. "Seems like he's holding a grudge after SG1 blew up his illegal naquadah mine. Not to mention you and Dr. Jackson halting his cosy side business fencing stolen Ancient technologies."

"_Too bad he made a run for it before he could tell you who he's working with… I'm getting tired of playin' Colombo here_."

"Colombo always caught his man by the end of the episode," Landry pointed out with another smirk.

Jack stared right into the camera.

_"Ya know, Hank, I might get tired of hearing it from the IOA and the President, but _your_ digs at my detective skills are just a breath of fresh air_," he deadpanned. "_Did ya call only to batter my fragile ego?_"

Landry's expression turned grave. "No," he admitted. "I wanted to know what you found and fill you in on the latest news about Trajan, but there's another thing, too." He looked to his left, where a pile of neatly scribbled post-its held all the phone messages that Walter took for him. "How well do you know Senator Fisher?"

Jack's reply was accompanied by a sour grimace. "_Remember when I said 'pompous asses'…? Fisher used to be chairman of the Senate appropriation committee, now he's the acting liaison between the IOA and the presidential council,_" he continued in a more serious tone, "_and rumour has it he'd be gunning for the top chair if Hayes wasn't up for re-election_. _Real upstanding guy…kinda like DC's own Mr. Burns._" He tilted his head to give Landry a curious look. "_Why_?"

The SGC General groaned, as his suspicions about the senator's nature were confirmed. "Just someone else who's nursing an old grudge," he muttered.

"_I wouldn't step on his toes_," Jack warned. "_Last thing the SGC needs is another Kinsey on a vendetta. You've been drawing a lot of fire lately." _

"Popularity is the one insult I have never suffered…" Landry quoted dryly.

"_Darth Vader_," Jack offered with a serious mien.

"Close. Oscar Wilde."

"_Well you might not wanna listen to your buddy Oscar on this one. Things aren't looking too friendly up here._" Jack sighed, his expression displeased. "_ Especially now that the big boss is busy visiting animal shelters and taking photos with babies, and he's letting the IOA make all the calls. They're just dying to have a go at the stargate program again._"

Landry's shoulders rose and fell in a sigh of his own. "Makes you wonder if Maybourne didn't have the right idea, after all."

"_Good old Harry_," Jack smirked. "_But let's hold off on following his worthy example until there's at least a dozen outstanding arrest warrants on us, too. Meanwhile, if you can play nice with the good senator, I'll do my best to keep the rest of 'em off your back._"

The SGC General shook his head. "It's not _my_ back I'm worried about. Senator Fisher –"

Before he could explain further, a loud alert siren rang out, and the red lights flashed to life. A few seconds later, Walter's voice came through the base-wide intercom. "_Unscheduled incoming wormhole_."

"_Don't miss _those," Jack grimaced, before waving a half-hearted goodbye as Landry rushed over to the control room.

* * *

The last chevron locked in place just as the General entered the control room. Through the thick protective screen, he watched the vortex spring to life in the room below. At the base of the gate ramp, a security team waited as protocol required, their P-90s trained on the active wormhole.

"Receiving an IDC, Sir…" Walter decoded the incoming signal, and compared it to their database, before looking up at the General again. "It's the Jaffa."

Landry nodded. "Open the iris. And get Teal'c up here."

A silhouette walked out of the stargate, and took a few cautious steps down the ramp. When the visitor looked up, Landry recognized Rak'nor, a former soldier of Heru'ur, one of the early members of the Jaffa rebellion, and Teal'c's current proxy on the Jaffa council. He reached for the intercom button.

"Stand down," he ordered the security team, then hurried down to the gate room.

* * *

"General Landry." The visitor gave a deep nod, his people's usual respectful greeting.

"Rak'nor." Landry returned a somewhat brisker nod. "Welcome." His expression took on a note of inquisitiveness. After all, Jaffa did not often make idle courtesy visits. " I trust everything's going well on Chulak?"

The other man assented slowly, almost hesitantly. "Things on Chulak are going…as well as one can expect. It has been a difficult year for the Jaffa."

"It's been a difficult year for all of us," Landry agreed. "Hopefully now that the Ori threat is gone, we can all rebuild, recover, and finally enjoy the freedom that we fought for. "

"That is my hope as well, General Landry." Rak'nor's expression became more preoccupied. "But there is still much for the Jaffa to do, before we can enjoy our freedom. Ah," his face lit up as Teal'c strode into the gate room, followed by a sweaty-looking Cameron Mitchell. From their state and their outfits, the two looked to have interrupted a sparring session.

Landry arched a silent eyebrow as he lay eyes on the colonel, in sweats and a drenched sleeveless shirt.

"Sir." Mitchell's expression was perfectly solemn. A drop of sweat rolled off his forehead onto his nose.

The corners of the General's mouth twitched.

Oblivious to the exchange between the two SGC officers, the Jaffa visitor dipped his head again. "_Tek matte_, Teal'c."

Teal'c returned the greeting, along with a hint of a smile. "Rak'nor. It is good to see you."

"Likewise," the other replied. "It has been too long. Teal'c –" his expression lost its cheerfulness again, as he looked his friend in the eyes, "I have come to seek your advice and assistance. I believe that the lives of many Jaffa are in danger."

* * *

"The Council has been debating the issue for many weeks, but only a few days ago we all travelled to Dakara to make the final decision." Rak'nor shook his head, his expression haunted. "Those of us who had not seen it before could not have pictured the extent of the damage."

Teal'c's brows were drawn together in a frown. "When the Ori ships destroyed the Ancient weapon on Dakara, we knew that the explosion had caused great devastation. I was there with SG-1 several months ago, and witnessed the aftermath of the attack." He gave the younger Jaffa a concerned look. "I informed the Council myself that the surface of Dakara lies in ruins. Why would they attempt to recolonize it so soon?"

General Landry briefly met Mitchell's eyes. They had both been asking themselves the same question ever since Rak'nor had mentioned that the Jaffa planned to take back Dakara. But as the non-Jaffa in the room, they had stayed diplomatically silent, content to let Teal'c get the full details of the situation from his trusted protégé.

Still, a cold sliver of apprehension snaked its way into Landry's stomach. The Jaffa Nation were now a force to contend with, yet as a whole they were volatile and, of late, uncommunicative even with their allies.

Mighty and unpredictable was not a combination that he found particularly reassuring.

"It is not fully decided yet that we will try to recolonize the planet," Rak'nor replied. "But many agree that Dakara is a holy place for all Jaffa, and it should be our priority to restore it after the war. Our people need hope in the wake of our severe losses, and Dakara has always been a sacred symbol."

Teal'c nodded slowly. "There are many other Jaffa worlds in need of assistance. However, turning Dakara into a safe haven would indeed provide a strong message of support for all our brothers across the galaxy." He looked thoughtful. "While I would have chosen to prioritize reconstruction efforts differently, I see the merits in restoring Dakara…"

"And we'll be happy to lend a hand whichever way we can," General Landry assured, his earnest expression concealing his misgivings about the situation. Then he noticed Rak'nor's own uneasy countenance. "But I'm guessing there's more to the story…"

"You believe there is danger to our people?" Teal'c prompted, recalling the younger Jaffa's earlier words.

Rak'nor nodded, his eyes fixed on the table in front of him.

"The devastation on Dakara is beyond what I had imagined." His expression was grim, and his voice held the slightest tremor as he described what he had seen. "It is a wasteland, and the air is thick with the smell of death. Nothing survives on the surface. And the planet itself seems to be against us…there are harsh windstorms and the ground often shakes hard enough to throw even a seasoned warrior off his feet."

Landry frowned and looked to Mitchell and Teal'c. "That doesn't sound like what you described when you got back from your mission."

"It wasn't." The colonel seemed surprised by Rak'nor's description. "I mean sure, the place was all one giant Tatooine desert, but we were digging there for a couple days and didn't feel so much as a light breeze."

"Colonel Mitchell is correct." Teal'c, too, looked troubled. "The ruins of Dakara were indeed arid and devoid of life, but we did not notice any other dangerous geological phenomena."

"Could something else have happened in the meantime? Another attack?"

"It is unlikely," Teal'c shook his head. "Once the Ancient superweapon was destroyed along with most of the planet's surface, the Ori warships had no reason to attack again. Nor would anyone else with the technology to inflict such damage."

The General nodded in agreement. "But if it wasn't another attack, then what…?"

"We do not yet know what is behind the transformation of Dakara," Rak'nor said regretfully. "But our holy planet seems on the verge of destruction. In the few days since our arrival there, I have witnessed cracks in the ground grow wider and vapours spout unexpectedly, hot enough to burn a man's flesh. The air is becoming harder to breathe. Whatever is happening to Dakara, it is growing worse, quickly."

"Not the place I'd choose to move in," Cam remarked in a low voice.

Rak'nor nodded, his expression a mixture of apprehension and frustration. "I truly believe that the planet will soon become uninhabitable. Yet the Council cannot come to an agreement."

"There are still some leaders who want to try to recolonize the planet anyway?" Much as he exerted his diplomacy, Landry could not keep the incredulous note out of his voice. When he directed his baffled look to Teal'c, however, the latter seemed less surprised.

"Dakara is a sacred place," Teal'c explained. "Its legend has been passed down among Jaffa for hundreds of generations. To allow it to be destroyed would be a great blow to our people."

"We have suffered heavy losses in the war," Rak'nor added. "The Jaffa did not have many safe worlds to begin with, and two of them have now been wiped out of existence by the Ori, while most of the others were attacked and suffered heavy damage. Thousands, _tens_ of thousands of our people are homeless. For months we have been spreading word about Dakara as a place of hope, a safe haven to eventually come together and rebuild. To give up now and accept the loss of our ancient holy planet is an unimaginable failure."

* * *

" – don't understand how you aren't the least bit curious about it." Vala stopped in front of the elevator and turned to give Daniel an impatient look. "If you'd listened to me, we'd have gone to that meeting and by now we'd know what's going on!"

The man rolled his eyes as he reached for the call button. "Rak'nor came to see Teal'c, not us."

"How come General Landry gets to go, then?"

"Because, he's the General."

Vala huffed disdainfully. "That's not fair," she informed him matter-of-factly.

Daniel made no reply, only shook his head and stepped through the elevator doors.

"Do you think he'll make Teal'c go back to Chulak?" Vala said after a few seconds, as the cabin made its way to the upper levels of the SGC.

"I don't know."

"Because I don't think we can spare him, after all we have a whole big mystery to solve right here on Earth, and Muscles is _very_ good at puzzles." She shrugged at Daniel's arched eyebrows. "We need him, so if the Jaffa want him, they'll just have to wait until we're done."

He gave her a sidelong glance. "You're starting to sound like Mitchell."

Vala shrugged again. "When Cameron's right, he's right."

There was another brief silence, but she picked up the conversation again when they stepped out of the elevator.

"I bet Samantha knows what this is all about."

"Doubt it," Daniel replied, "she's been down in her lab for most of the day. Besides, _no one_ knows what 'this' is about yet. You heard Walter – Rak'nor wanted to talk directly to Teal'c."

"Hm." Vala sounded sceptical. "I could've gotten it out of him _if_ we'd caught him before Muscles got there."

"Probably better that you didn't get to try..."

Her glare let him know that she did not take his opinion kindly.

Then the glare morphed into a suspicious frown as Vala's thoughts seemed to change direction. "Speaking of Walter… did you see the way he looked at me?"

Daniel's eyebrows arched, and he gave her a wry look. "Do you mean before or after you suggested using the briefing room intercom to eavesdrop?"

"You _know_ everyone in that control room was thinking it."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure no one came up with _that_ before…"

"Oh, please. And I'm telling you," she continued suspiciously, "he may _look_ all innocent, but Walter _knows_ something. I can tell when someone's giving me that look. It was all right there in his eyes!"

"Right."

"There's _some_thing going on, Daniel," Vala insisted, "and Walter's in the know, and _I'm_ going to find out what it is."

Daniel sighed, and he pitied the poor Chief Master Sergeant.

* * *

Landry listened with growing concern as Rak'nor related the situation on Dakara. This latest scheme was in line with the impulsive actions that the Jaffa had been prone to since they had lost most of their leaders to war. On the other hand, he could not presume to tell them to give up their legendary sacred world. He knew what a strong message of hope could be sent by rebuilding.

He looked to Teal'c again. The Jaffa was deep in thought, his chin resting on his palms, his eyebrows knitted as he silently pondered the facts. Finally, he took a deep breath and met Rak'nor's gaze.

"Attempting to recolonize the planet if it has truly become uninhabitable will only lead to more lives being lost. I would advise the Council against pursuing this restoration effort, at least until we know what is causing the changes on Dakara."

The younger Jaffa shook his head. "I already told them this would be your opinion," he said dejectedly. "But many would not listen. We have been on Dakara for nearly eight days now, struggling to breathe the air, forced to retreat to our ships twice by the violent storms…." His eyes held Teal'c's, their expression almost pleading. "Yet I cannot convince the Council that we should leave, even though to linger is to risk all our lives."

"Butting heads with the folks in charge," Cam commented under his breath, "same on every planet…"

"And if the decision is made to attempt to recolonize Dakara, I fear many more Jaffa will die," Rak'nor continued. "I have tried, Teal'c, I swear, but the voices of the other faction leaders are strong. They know I speak in your name, but this time it is not sufficient."

Once again Landry and Mitchell exchanged a concerned look. They could tell where this was going.

As could Teal'c. "I will accompany you back to Dakara and address the Council myself," he stated. After a moment, he looked to Landry. "If you do not require my presence on base, General Landry, I would leave immediately."

The General breathed out slowly, taking a second to think before responding. "You're free to go, of course…but since Dakara is currently a…difficult…environment, I'd like to extend an invitation for the Council to join us here, instead."

"I second that," Cam agreed. "Hell of a lot cosier than earthquakes and toxic geysers."

"They will not accept it," Rak'nor said softly. He looked almost apologetic.

"You could have full use of our diplomatic quarters, and all the privacy you require to come to a decision," Landry assured. "And we can discuss how Earth can help you with reconstruction efforts…"

But the younger Jaffa just shook his head slowly. "The faction leaders will not come."

Landry's slight pursing of his lips was a sign of his displeasure. "I'm sure you understand why I'm not thrilled to have one of my best people go to a planet that, by your own admission, has become too unstable to sustain life."

"Nevertheless, I must go." Teal'c looked determined. "The fate of Dakara is a matter of great importance to the Jaffa. If I am to advocate leaving our holy planet…even if it is for our people's safety…then I must do so directly to the rest of the Council."

It was Mitchell who voiced the question on everyone's minds. "What if they doesn't listen to _you_, either?"

Teal's hesitated for a moment. "Then I will attempt to help them restore Dakara."

"We don't even know what's causing its destruction in the first place," Cam argued, the slight agitation in his voice betraying his own concern over the fate of one of his team members. "And from what your buddy Rak'nor here's saying, sounds to me like the place is ready to go up in flames."

"All the more reason for me to offer any assistance I can." He continued before Cam could say anything else: "My decision is made, Colonel Mitchell."

The SG1 leader opened his mouth to protest again, then frowned and seemed to change his mind. "Let's get Carter in here," he suggested instead.

"Colonel –" Landry warned in a low voice. The whole argument had started because they did not want to risk _one_ valued SGC member, and involving _more_ of them was hardly a solution he could appreciate.

"Sir," Mitchell donned a persuasive expression, "if anyone can figure out what's going on on Dakara, it's her. We can go with Teal'c," he offered, "take a look around while he's making his case with the Council. If they still want to move in, maybe Sam'll work out a way to fix the plumbing…"

Rak'nor looked ready to argue as well, but Landry spoke first.

"And if she can't?"

But Cam was ready for the question. "Then Teal'c will have an extra strong argument for why they should look for real estate elsewhere," he replied. "I mean, this _is_ Carter we're talkin' about…if she can't fix it, it ain't gettin' fixed. The Jaffa know that, heck the whole _galaxy_ knows that by now."

Landry exhaled slowly, his expression still a touch cross. But he had to admit that Mitchell argued a good point. Colonel Carter and Teal'c together would make a much stronger case to the Jaffa Council. And it did reassure him to some degree to know that Teal'c would have his team along for back-up…although there was only that much back-up they could provide against a disintegrating planet.

"Let's get the rest of your team in here, Colonel," he said out loud, allowing a note of irritation to his tone.

"No!"

Rak'nor's protest took them all by surprise. Teal'c turned his head toward his protégé. Landry arched his eyebrows. Mitchell tilted his head and gave him a wary look.

The younger Jaffa looked ashamed at his outburst, then his expression became apologetic once more. "Forgive me…I do not mean to sound ungrateful. Some of the faction leaders…" he hesitated. "It is the opinion of some of us…" Another pause, and he gave Teal'c a pleading glance, before finally squaring his shoulders. "There are those among us who would not welcome a Tau'ri presence in the midst of this debate."

Landry's eyebrows rose even higher.

"The Tau'ri and the Jaffa are allies." Teal'c sounded displeased, which only increased Rak'nor's discomfort.

"I know that. We all know that… but of late…" he looked at a loss for words again. "Our brothers are grieving the many losses of the Ori war," he tried to explain, "and in such times it is easy to lose sight of who our friends are…"

"Are you saying that the Jaffa Council no longer views us as friends?" The General's tone had lost its cordiality, and it was now matter-of-fact and calculated. He was no longer a concerned witness to the Jaffa's plight, but a leader looking out for the best interests of those under his command. "If that's true, I'm even less inclined to see Teal'c walk into the situation on Dakara."

"Teal'c is a Jaffa," Rak'nor pointed out, a note of pride in his voice.

"He's also a valued member of my command, an _Earth_ command."

Cam grimaced. From Teal'c's expression, the Jaffa did not approve of being the object of Rak'nor and Landry's verbal tug of war. And the colonel couldn't blame him – he knew that there had been some pressure for Teal'c to rejoin the Jaffa… and Cam himself had exerted considerable, if more subtle, efforts to keep him on SG-1 instead. The conflicting demands can't have been easy to deal with.

"Thank you, General Landry." Teal'c finally spoke up in a firm tone. "It remains my intention to travel to Dakara and offer my assistance. However," he turned to Rak'nor, "I, too, believe that Colonel Carter's expertise would be beneficial."

"I do not doubt that," the younger Jaffa assured him, then directed his next words to Landry, "but it is necessary to warn you of the reception you might expect. Some will be displeased. But I also agree that Colonel Carter's help would be invaluable. None of our people have been able to precisely determine what is happening on Dakara, or what has caused the changes."

Mitchell turned an expecting gaze to his commanding officer. The older man did not look appeased by Rak'nor's words, but after a brief moment's thought, he nodded.

"I'll have Walter call Colonel Carter down. She can accompany you and Teal'c to Dakara." He looked to their visitor. "Perhaps the Jaffa will be less…displeased," (the tone in which he spoke the word suggested he was more than a little dissatisfied, himself) "with a reduced contingent of Tau'ri offering to help."

Everyone nodded silently, though none of them seemed particularly approving. Landry's lips were pressed together as he reached for the conference room telephone. Teal'c wore a slight frown that betrayed his discontent. Rak'nor looked uncomfortable.

Mitchell sighed inwardly. Their solution had all the hallmarks of a perfect compromise – it addressed everyone's concerns to some degree, and absolutely no one was happy with it.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! As always, we love to hear from you. **


	18. Irreparable Differences, pt 2

**All but one of the Jaffa mentioned in this virtual episode appeared at some point (or repeatedly) in the show. If you're curious who they are and what they did, the wiki has more details!**

******Domina tempore co-wrote a fair part of this chapter, so a big mention goes to her! And t**hanks to everyone for reading and reviewing the last chapter, and of course the rest of the VS team, my patient, wacky and all-around wonderful partners in crime. 

**Irreparable Differences, pt. 2**

Dakara was unrecognizable.

It took only moments to realize that the planet was beyond any hope of recolonization. Sam could not understand how the Jaffa High Council was in disagreement over the decision. Barely a few steps away from the stargate, and she could already feel the thick hot air burning her lungs, and her eyes watered involuntarily. All around, as far as the eye could see, the once peaceful plains had turned into hazardous wasteland, the parched ground marred by cracks, noxious fumes erupting sporadically from some unseen depths.

Some distance away from the gate, in a small patch of land that looked less fractured, three tents stood unsteadily against the strong wind. Sam could appreciate the Jaffa's perseverance, but she doubted the tents provided any protection against the dangerous environment. Much as it may have been their ancient sacred planet, it was clear now that Dakara was as unwelcoming as could be.

"What are they doing here? We told you not to return with the Tau'ri!"

Apparently, the current inhabitants were quite unwelcoming themselves. Sam exchanged a quick glance with Mitchell as a wiry, light-haired Jaffa wearing the mark of Cronus marched up to them and gave Rak'nor an angry glare.

"This doesn't concern _them_," he spat.

"Colonels Mitchell and Carter are here at my request." Teal'c adopted a grave expression as he stepped forward, and he spoke in his calm, warning tone. "The Tau'ri are our allies and they will be treated with the appropriate respect."

The blond Jaffa looked like he wanted to argue, but faced with Teal'c's disapproving stare he clenched his jaw and averted his eyes. Several others had approached, a couple dozen or so Jaffa, all haggard-looking and wearing grim expressions. Some nodded in greeting to the visitors, others simply looked on suspiciously.

"That may well be, but Haakon is right. This is not a matter open to outsiders, allies or not". A dark-haired, olive-skinned Jaffa walked up to their group. "Greetings, Teal'c." His forehead, too, bored the mark of Cronus, and there was a scar running down his left cheek. "We are glad that you return to us… though with unneeded company."

Teal'c gave a curt, barely perceptible nod, a testament to his irritation. "Latal." He remained close to his fellow team members, sending a silent message to all the gathered Jaffa. "_I_ have brought my friends here, as they too have offered their help."

"We have had enough of the Tau'ri's help," another voice called from the crowd, and there were murmurs of assent.

"Enough!" Tolok, a former solider of Heru'ur and the oldest member of the High Council, stepped forward as well, and extended a hand to Teal'c. "_Tek matte_, Teal'c. You must forgive us for the reception," he apologized to the two colonels, "I am afraid our time spent here has put us all in a sombre mood. You are welcome, of course."

"And we thank you for your offer to help," said Kal'el, a female Jaffa formerly in Moloc's service and the spokesperson for the Hak'tyl Resistance on the High Council, "although I fear there is indeed nothing that you can do. As Latal points out, this is truly a matter for the Council to decide." She cast a forlorn look at their surroundings. "The quakes and storms have grown worse. It would be safer for you to return to Earth rather than wait out our decision here. Dakara is far from the safe haven we promised our people."

"Er…yeah, Rak'nor mentioned that," Sam said carefully, not wishing to further inflame matters. "That's kind of why we're here. I'd like to take a look around – if that's okay with you," she added diplomatically. "See if we can figure out what's causing these extreme changes. We were just on Dakara a few months ago and its climate was normal and stable."

"Was that when you and your people came to dig up our ancient treasures without our consent?" Latal asked bitingly.

"SG-1 was searching for an artefact that would defeat the Ori," Teal'c defended, his brows drawing together in a displeased frown. "Ultimately, that search is what ended the war."

"Last time that SG-1 used Dakara to try to defeat the Ori, our sacred planet was left in ruins and our best weapon, the Jaffa people's greatest defence, was destroyed." Latal's expression was cold, sarcastic. "I believe I remember that correctly, as I was there at the time. I barely made my escape from the planet before the Ori opened fire. Many of our brothers were not so lucky."

More murmurs of agreement came from the crowd, while those who had previously greeted Teal'c and the colonels warmly now remained silent.

"Listen, uhm – Latal," Cam adopted his most tactful air, "we get that you guys aren't happy with what's going on on Dakara, and you ain't exactly in the mood for entertaining company. But we don't want to get in your way, we just came along to help. Carter here," he gave her a sideways nod, "she's fixed a planet or ten before, so why don't you give her a chance to take a look around and see what's going on?"

"We don't need your help, Tau'ri," Haakon, the blond Jaffa with the mark of Cronus sneered. "Go back to where you came from and stop interfering in our affairs."

"Dakara belongs to the Jaffa!" someone shouted, and Tolok once again called for silence in an irritated tone.

A sudden gust of wind hit them with enough force to send some of the group stumbling, and at the same time loud thunder rumbled from above, although no rain came. The ground vibrated slightly beneath their feet.

"Please, it is not safe to be out in the open if the winds become too strong." Kal'el held out a hand toward one of the tents. "If I cannot convince you to return to Earth, you must wait under what little shelter we can provide. The Council will convene immediately to hear Teal'c's advice."

"I stand by my suggestion that the Tau'ri return to their home, and let us deal with our own matters. Please do not be offended," Latal's perfunctory smile did not reach his eyes, "but as we all agree, your help is unnecessary…and unwanted."

"To my knowledge, you do not speak for all Jaffa," Teal'c's tone was equally icy. "I believe many here can correctly appreciate the Tau'ri's sincere intentions, and may feel differently."

"Many of us do feel grateful to the Tau'ri." Tolok sounded tired. "Please, let us go inside before a windstorm starts…"

Even the hostile former warrior of Cronus had to drop the argument when another deafening thunder exploded above them. Slowly, the Jaffa made their way toward the tents, though many of them still cast wary glances back at the two SG-1 colonels. Teal'c remained by their side as they headed for shelter, his deep scowl emphasizing his frustration.

Cam gave Sam a sideways glanced as they walked. "And _you_ thought they wouldn't be happy to see us…!"

* * *

"Come in." Landry looked up from the budget spreadsheet on his desk, privately happy for the interruption. "What can I do for you, Chief?"

Walter held up a thin folder. "Sir," he greeted. "Sorry to bother you, but I think we need to change the filing header on the, uhm, mission to Dakara."

The General frowned, then sighed as he remembered. "Right… can't write it off as personal time for Teal'c if I sent Mitchell and Carter along."

"No, Sir. Sorry, Sir." Walter sounded sympathetic. He better than anyone knew how closely scrutinised each mission statement was these days by the higher-ups in DC. "I was going to categorize the mission as 'Humanitarian Aid', but…"

There was no need to finish the thought. The IOA had made it clear that the already scarce resources of the SGC should be spent more 'wisely' – that is, less helping others and more looking out for Earth's own interests. 'Humanitarian aid' jobs were not looked upon kindly, and it had even been discussed to impose a maximum quota on that type of mission. Of course, Landry had argued that it _was_ in _every_one's interest to have as many friendly planets recover from the ravages of the Ori war… but the IOA wasn't listening.

"Put it under 'Diplomacy'," the General instructed after a moment of thought. "The Jaffa _are_ still our allies…at least until they change their minds again," he muttered dryly. "Say we sent Teal'c and the colonels to foster diplomatic relations by helping their recolonization efforts."

"Yes, Sir. Uh, that makes it five diplomatic missions this month, if we count SG-3's trip to Juno."

Landry heaved another sigh. Disguising humanitarian efforts under headers that the IOA was less likely to question would only work so many times before someone in DC caught on. Five diplomacy missions in a month was a pretty big red flag.

"Let's hope no one's reading those progress reports too carefully."

"Yes, Sir…Er, General…" Walter looked increasingly uncomfortable. "Senator Fisher…"

"Let me guess…he threatened to come down in person again?" Landry asked with bitter humour.

"No, Sir. But when I told him you were unavailable this time, he did make inquiries as to my long-term career plans..."

"He threatened _you_?" The older man scowled.

Walter shrugged. "He…suggested I might enjoy a change of climate...and may have mentioned McMurdo's."

The chief's tone was light, but Landry's scowl grew darker still. No one bullied his people and got away with it, damn it, not even the President's IOA liaison.

"He's after Ms. Mal Doran, isn't he?"

The General's eyebrows rose. "Whatever gave you that idea, Chief?"

"I was the one who wrote the four-page apology letter after that hearing, Sir." Walter adjusted his glasses. "You know, the one where she accused him of having …uhh..an insufficient manhood."

He winced sympathetically as the SGC commander groaned. That had been a debacle of some proportion, quelled abruptly only by the unexpected disappearance of Vala Mal Doran through the Ori supergate.

"I thought they'd gotten over that, Sir…?"

"Apparently the Senator has a long memory," Landry deadpanned. "And it's going to take more than a letter to calm those ruffled feathers, this time." He exhaled slowly. "Don't worry, Walter, no one's sending you to McMurdo."

"Oh, good, Sir. I _was_ a little worried." The chief master sergeant wore a serious expression. "I'd hate to have to leave before going through the four-hundred-and-seventy-two pages of budget and tax documents that we have to prepare for the upcoming audit."

Landry stared at him in surprise for a moment, then pursed his lips in a half-annoyed, half-amused grimace. The IOA was limiting SGC's missions, Fisher was trying to make trouble for Vala, and now Walter was making wisecracks. The world was officially going crazy.

* * *

Between the howling of the winds outside and the voices of the Jaffa inside the tent, Sam didn't hear the rattle that heralded the earthquake, and in fact did not realize that the ground was shaking until she found herself abruptly jerked sideways. She scrambled to stay on her feet and was thankful when Cam grabbed her elbow to keep her upright.

It was over in less than a minute, with no damage more serious than some scrapes and bruises, and a couple of the tent's pins being knocked out. Still, it had left the mood inside the tent even more sombre than before.

"This was but a small tremor, fortunately." Normally, Rak'nor would have joined Teal'c for the council meeting, but the older Jaffa had insisted that he remain with the two Tau'ri and assist them in investigating the disastrous changes on the planet. "We will be lucky if it is the worst today."

"Didn't feel that small," Sam muttered, "on Earth, we'd rate that pretty high on a seismic magnitude scale."

"In the eight days that we have been here, twice we had to retreat back to our ships for fear that the planet itself would break open. Believe me, Colonel Carter," the Jaffa looked grim, "this was nothing compared to what Dakara can do."

"All the more reason for us to take a look around," Cam pointed out, "if you think it's safe to get out there."

Rak'nor nodded. "The windstorm has ceased for the moment. I must check the ring platform, and then I will act as your guide." He led them out and toward a small raised platform that stood between the three tents. "It was fortunate that the Chapa'ai and the transport rings remained intact after the Ori attack, though I am unsure how much longer that will last. I tried to persuade the High Council that we should remain on board Yat'yir's Ha'tak, but Latal argued that we cannot be driven away from our own sacred planet, and so I was overruled."

"At least you picked a good place to set camp." Sam studied the immediate surroundings. "No cracks or sinkholes, and it looks like it's been spared the worst of the devastation."

"Until now, this area seems to be the most stable," the Jaffa confirmed, "but I believe it is only a matter of time before it, too, is destroyed."

"Not hard to see why," Cam muttered as he watched a puff of black smoke erupt from a fissure in the distance. "No offense, but what the heck are the rest of your council buddies thinking? This place is like an Addams family vacation spot."

"Most of us agree that Dakara is beyond salvation… but there are a few who wish to see the recolonization plans through as a testament to our resolve and dedication to a strong Jaffa Nation."

"Let me guess – our pal Latal?"

Rak'nor nodded. "He has been the most vocal supporter of persisting in our efforts."

"Don't take this the wrong way," Sam cast a wary glance at the few other Jaffa milling about, "but I'm surprised the High Council hasn't overruled him already." A loud thunderclap boomed outside as if to emphasize her point.

"None of them wish to abandon our homeworld. Dakara is where we won our greatest battle, where we all stood free, at last, from the Goa'uld." Rak'nor's expression was a mixture of pride and regret. "Others on the council agree with Latal when he presents Dakara as a new start for our people, a place where all Jaffa can come and seek shelter and live undisturbed…"

"Undisturbed by people like us, you mean," Cam caught the message left out. "Yeah, he didn't seem all that eager to make friends. What's he got against Earth, anyway?"

There was a brief pause. The Jaffa checked the ring platform, and waved back to a few others that were also inspecting the area around the tents. Finally, once he had signalled that all was well with the rings, he turned to the two colonels again. His expression was hesitant, but both were still waiting for an answer, so there was nothing for him to do but give one.

"Latal…he has suffered many losses in this last war. More, perhaps, than most of us. He lost his family on Kallana, and all his friends, almost everyone he ever knew with the exception of a few who escaped at the last moment…"

"Kallana." Sam sounded horrified. "That's the planet that the Ori destroyed when they first tried to form a supergate."

Cam grimaced. "Okay, I'd be pissed too if the Ori turned my planet into a black hole."

"He's blaming us for his world being destroyed. If we hadn't detonated the Mark IX, the Prior couldn't have provided enough power to the forcefield… Kallana may have –"

"That Prior was gonna blow it up one way or another," Mitchell said firmly. "We tried our best. And we stopped them from opening the supergate."

"That time." Latal's voice came from behind, and the three of them turned to see the Kallanan Jaffa walking up from the direction of the largest tent. He was flanked by several others, and none of them looked particularly friendly.

* * *

Vala let out a nervous sigh and tapped her foot to the floor. "Daniel, did you know that General O'Neill once kidnapped a small alien child from base and didn't want to give her back?"

Hunched studiously over his desk, the man did his best to ignore the latest in her string of absurd and seemingly unrelated comments. But when the irritating tapping increased in frequency, he groaned and looked up to where she sat on his tattered old sofa, flanked on either side by a large stack of mission report folders.

"_Yes_, I know, I was there," he muttered.

"He didn't get in trouble for that, did he?"

"No more than usual…" he admitted absently, looking back at the papers in front of him and scratching out another line of the translation he was working on. Rak'nor's unexpected request that he remain behind had actually turned out in his favour, as he was actually able to focus on the work that –

"General Hampton sounds like a very nice man."

Daniel closed his eyes briefly, and once again tried to ignore her.

"What about when Samantha clocked General Hampton over the head and tried to take over the base?"

"It's _Hammond_," he sighed in exasperation, "and I'm sure all the details are in those couple of hundred folders you've got scattered all over my office. Now could you please be quiet? Some of us have actual work that we're trying to do here..."

She let out a small indignant huff. "There's no need to get grouchy."

He pressed his lips together and threw her another warning glare, before going back to his translation. For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by the rustling of papers as she flipped through several other mission reports (Daniel did not even start to guess _why_) and the scratching of his pencil on the page.

Just as he was finally getting back into the rhythm of his work, Vala sighed loudly and got up from the sofa. She paced from one end of the office to the other, stopped, tapped her foot against the floor impatiently, then turned and resumed pacing once more. With his head was bent over his translation, Daniel could practically _feel_ her eyes drilling into the back of his neck, hoping for a reaction. He was rather hoping that she'd get bored and leave him alone, but Vala was not to be dismissed. She dropped back onto the sofa and began tapping her fingers against one of the folders and huffing softly.

"Could you please stop that?" he asked flatly, knowing better than to pay her too much attention when she was like this. "Translating these original instructions could help Sam and Dr. Lee get that energy converter working again."

Her only reply was another groan, and she let her head dropped into her hands.

Inwardly, Daniel sighed. "If you're so bored, then why don't you find something _useful_ to do? Preferably something that you can do someplace else so I can finish these translations in peace…"

"Humph." She peered at him from behind spread fingers. "I _could_ be doing useful things on Dakara if anyone had bothered to include _us_..."

He rolled his eyes. "Unless you're looking to start the first Tau'ri/Jaffa war," he muttered, "I really don't think you'd have much of anything to do on Dakara, either."

"Well!" Vala gasped, her tone offended, "just because I don't have one of your precious Earth titles or 'degrees'" her hands made air quotes, a new favourite gesture of hers, "doesn't mean that I'm _completely_ useless, you know!"

In her indignation, she knocked against the mission report files with one hand. Daniel winched as the high stack wobbled for a fraction of a second, then went crashing to the ground in an avalanche of papers and notes that littered his entire floor.

Vala bit her lower lip and gave him her wide-eyed, innocent-little-me face. "Oops."

Daniel was not amused.

His jaw clenched, he exhaled in a slow, deliberate rumble, pressing his fingers to both temples to hold off the looming headache.

"It's just a few papers, Daniel, there's no need to look so stiff about it." Her lips pressed together in a small grin. "Al_though_…"

"Would you stop that!" he snapped, exasperated.

"Well I would if _you_'d stop overreacting over a little accident!"

"I wouldn't _need_ to –"

Whatever he was about to say – and Daniel was certain that it would have been brilliant – was interrupted by the ringing of the rarely-used phone on his wall.

Vala froze, her eyes flicking over to the device suspiciously. "I didn't know that thing actually _rang_."

"It's a phone, Vala. What did you expect it to do?"

"I don't know," she scoffed. "I didn't think it was real! Everything _else_ in your office is a precious, off-limits artefact. How am I to know the difference? You should really label these things – what are you doing?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow and reached for the phone. "Um, I'm answering it."

"No! I mean...don't you have translations to work on...or something?"

He gave her an incredulous look, then shook his head and picked up the phone. "Jackson. Yes, General." He glanced at Vala, whose fingers had resumed their nervous tapping. "Yes, she's here...no, she doesn't. Alright, I will. Thank you." He hung up the receiver and turned to Vala. "General Landry wants to see you in his office," he said.

"I swear I didn't break it; I was nowhere near the thing, it was –"

"Um, Vala? He didn't mention anything being broken."

"Oh? Never mind, then. I'm sure it's nothing –"

"Except your radio." Daniel peered at her over the rim of his glasses. "He said he's been trying to contact you on it all day and you haven't answered. You also haven't answered your _very expensive_ new cell phone, which I certainly hope you haven't broken or lost, and you've been running away from every airman you pass in the halls." He crossed his arms, his expression softening. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

Vala sat up straight and folded her hands in her lap. "Nothing's going on. What do _you_ think is going on?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you know something that I don't? It's Walter, isn't it? I told you he was hiding something from me!"

The only thing that Walter was hiding from Vala was probably himself.

Daniel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay..." He got up and walked to open the door. "Come on, let's go."

She looked wary as she stood. "Where are we going?"

"The General asked me to escort you to his office, since you seem to 'lose your way' there more often than not." He waited for her to walk out before following her into the hallway. "Don't suppose there's any chance you'll lose your way _back_ and let me finish translating that Ancient instructions manual…"

* * *

Rak'nor tensed as he watched Latal and his followers approach. He cast a worried glance toward the largest tent, but none of the other High Council members had emerged. He hoped that they had discussed the Tau'ri's presence in their meeting, and that Cronus's former lieutenant would not cause problems. With the dangers of Dakara and the dissension in the Council, a fight with the Tau'ri was the last thing they needed.

A fight, however, may have been exactly what the resentful Jaffa leader wanted.

"Latal –" Rak'nor spoke warningly, but the other Jaffa ignored him.

"You may have destroyed the Ori Chapa'ai _that time_," he told Mitchell, his tone accusing, "but at what cost? And what good did it do in the end? The Ori still came through, and they killed thousands of our brothers."

"Look, we're very sorry for your losses –"

"And what good does that do us? Will it bring back our lost planets? Will it bring back our dead people?"

"Everyone lost someone," Mitchell said softly. "It was a war. But we were fighting on the same side. And we _won_. We're still on the same side," he reminded the Jaffa.

"Are we?" Latal's lips curled derisively. "It seems to me that every time the Jaffa become involved with the Tau'ri, we suffer heavy losses. Every time we follow you into battle, you win… and our warriors never go home to their families."

There was a hum of agreement from his followers.

"The Tau'ri have helped us gain our freedom from the Goa'uld!" Teal'c's voice boomed suddenly, and he strode over to them from the Council's tent. His expression was menacing as he took a position at Mitchell's side and faced Latal. "You do not have a right to question them. They have fought alongside us even when they had no weapons and no technology! It is with their help that the System Lords were overthrown and that _all_ Jaffa in this galaxy are now free!"

"And we have bled and died for them in return!" Latal shot back. "How many times did they come to us for help? How many of our ships were lost for the Tau'ri's goals?"

"Those goals were to help the people of this galaxy and hold back any other tyrants who would oppress them! The Jaffa have always joined the Tau'ri willingly, as allies," Teal'c pointed out angrily, "and they did the same for us when we had need of them. The Jaffa and the Tau'ri fought side by side as brothers!"

His words caused another eruption of murmurs from the quickly gathering crowd. Carter and Mitchell exchanged a worried glance: things were escalating far more than they wished. There were nods of agreement, but just as many expressions of protest. Latal's group in particular were vocal about their disagreement.

"Open your eyes, Teal'c," the other Jaffa said contemptuously, "that may have been true once, but the Tau'ri have begun to view us as their servants. They make plans with our ships and our planets and our people and they barely bother to ask for permission anymore! And while we fly them around and put our resources at their disposal, they save their energy and grow stronger on their own planet!"

"Your resentment of the Tau'ri is unfounded, Latal," the anger in Teal'c's voice was now replaced by an iciness that was almost more unsettling, "and it does not serve our people well. And I will not allow you to cast doubt on SG-1's intentions. They fought and risked their lives for the Free Jaffa long before you did."

Latal's jaw clenched at the perceived insult. "That may well be, but the Tau'ri are not all like your precious SG-1," he snarled back. "You are blinded by your faith in these two you call friends, but the rest of us can see the actions of their people as a whole."

"Their leader, too, has –"

But the other Jaffa spoke right over him: "They would use their allies only to advance themselves, and the Jaffa will not stand for it! We were not freed from the Goa'uld only to become the Tau'ri's expendable soldiers instead! We will no longer allow them to throw us against their enemies and use us to win their battles!"

"Their enemies have been our enemies," Teal'c all but shouted, incensed once more, "and their battles our battles!"

"Not this time," Latal retorted. He held out a hand to indicate the Dakaran wasteland. "Here, we fight to turn our sacred planet – that we have lost because of the Tau'ri's meddling! – into a safe haven for Jaffa! This is _our_ battle, and it does not concern the Tau'ri! We will have no more of their interference!"

"Go back to your own people, Tau'ri!" Haakon shouted, and a chorus of agreement roared behind him. Emboldened by the support, he took a step toward the two humans, and some of Latal's followers immediately imitated him. "No more meddling! Our affairs are our own!"

Mitchell and Sam immediately drew closer together and retreated a step. Cam caught the woman's hand as it flew instinctively toward the Zat gun that she carried. Still keeping a wary eye on the advancing Jaffa, he gave her a quick sideways glance and shook his head. Sam's hand relaxed as she caught the message – to draw her weapon first would be to take things past the point of no return.

Of course, the handful of Latal's cronies with puffed up chests and menacing scowls looked well on the way to doing that themselves.

Teal'c's expression had been displeased before, but now Cam saw it had grown downright sinister. The Jaffa took one step forward to place himself between the advancing group and his two teammates, and without any warning grabbed Haakon by the scuff of his shirt and almost lifted him clear off the ground.

Mitchell jumped in before he could think about it too much. "Whoa!"

He somehow managed to squeeze himself in between Teal'c and the blond Jaffa, and to his relief his friend released his grip. Luckily, suddenly having to go against the famed and well-respected Teal'c of Chulak had caused Haakon's baleful friends to pause, and so no one came charging at Cam. Still, the fight was far from over.

Latal astutely capitalized on the tension with a shocked gasp. "You would fight your own _brothers_, Teal'c, for the Tau' –"

"No he would _not_," Mitchell cut him off, his eyes silently urging Teal'c to help diffuse the situation. "Look, we get it, this wasn't a good time to visit. Carter and I'll just head back to Earth." The last thing he wanted was to leave Teal'c alone, but it was preferable to causing an irreparable rift with the Jaffa.

"That would be best," Latal agreed. "Next time, remember that you do not have a word in our decisions."

"Right." Arrogant bastard.

"Would you deny me the right to be heard, as well, Latal?" Teal'c's cold anger seeped through his words. "Do you wish that I, too, had no vote in the actions of our people?"

This time, the voices of the crowd were indignant, protesting. After all, Teal'c was a living legend among Jaffa, and they had learned time and again that he usually stood on the right side of conflicts.

Latal slowly dipped his head, though he was visibly displeased. "Of course not, Teal'c. No one can deny what great services you have done for the Free Jaffa Nation. If you were to join us again, I would trust you to lead our people to greatness."

"Yet you would go against my wishes – and the High Council's decision – that we accept the aid offered to us unconditionally," Teal'c replied, unmoved by the compliment. "And you insult me by attacking my friends, who have joined me here in good faith. Your unjustified resentment is not only unwise, it is an offence to me and to our allies. A true leader does not put his own bitterness above the best interests of those who listen to him."

The other Jaffa clenched his fists. "The best interests of our people are not to –"

"Latal!" Tolok, Kal'el and several other High Council members walked over, the crowd parting to let them pass. "We decided that we would not continue to question the Tau'ri's offer to help. We understand your point of view, but this is not the moment to reject assistance." Tolok nodded to their surroundings. "Dakara is falling apart before our very eyes. We all know of Colonel Carter's abilities, and if there's anything she can do to stop this destruction, we will be nothing but grateful."

The other Council members nodded their agreement, as did most of the surrounding Jaffa. In the end, Latal acknowledged that he was overruled, and bowed his head again.

"Very well, then. I agree that saving Dakara should be our foremost purpose…but, Colonel Carter, you will forgive me if I do not look forward to witnessing the results of your…assistance." He shook his head. "I hope I am proved wrong, but I believe you will all find your faith in the Tau'ri is misplaced."


	19. Irreparable Differences, pt 3

**Irreparable Differences, pt. 3**

"Ms. Mal Doran, please come in."

With decidedly less confidence than she generally exuded, Vala slipped into Landry's office and closed the door. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, here on Earth that's usually what fifty calls and messages mean." His eyebrows arched meaningfully. "I've had an easier time getting a hold of the President lately than of you."

She crossed her arms a little defensively, and shrugged. "I'm usually called in here when I'm about to get yelled at, so...why make it easy?"

Hank had figured she was probably still harbouring a healthy fear after her dressing-down… which in his opinion was not entirely a bad thing.

"Not this time," he said, and gestured to the chair across from his desk. "Have a seat."

She perched cautiously on the edge of the chair, looking ready to jump up and run at the first chance. "So what _is_ this about, then, if not to berate me for my many failings?"

"I just got off the phone with the IOA liaison, Senator Fisher." He made an effort to keep his voice perfectly neutral. "Your presence is being requested in DC. They want an interview regarding your status here at the SGC."

Vala frowned, a vaguely panicked expression on her face. "But I haven't done anything wrong!"

Landry raised an eyebrow in an admirable impression of Teal'c.

"...lately?" When he continued to look sceptical, Vala rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "Alright, so there was that one _minor_ misunderstanding with the Ata House, but it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

It had, he admitted to himself, but barely. Of course, 'barely' was how most of SG-1's stellar successes had been saved from catastrophic failures. It often seemed to him that all of them operated at their best under threat of imminent disaster… which explained why Jack's hair had gone all grey in his one year of command, and perhaps why his predecessor had no hair at all to speak of.

"I'll do better," Vala promised, snapping him out of his thoughts, "just give me one more chance."

"It's not my call to send you up there," he explained patiently. "The IOA has been pushing for an interview with you ever since you returned from your time with the Tok'ra –"

"The Tok'ra are lying!" she declared immediately, just like she had when she had first returned several weeks before. "I didn't do anything, I –"

" – and after the situation with the Ata House, and losing half our year's budget, I don't have a lot of leverage left," the General finished, ignoring her outburst. "This just isn't a battle worth fighting with them at this point. Now, I'm not going to lie to you and say that it'll be _pleasant_, but…"

"No!" Vala's eyes widened in panic, then she quickly schooled her expression into one of persuasion. "Surely there's no need to waste all that time and _funding_ to send me to DC," she coaxed. "You can cut my pay to make up for that money we lost. And you can tell the IOA that you gave me a stern talking-to, and I saw the error of my ways, and now I'm never going to step the _tiniest_ bit out of line, _ever_ again."

She looked admirably serious. The beginning of a headache began to build behind the General's left eye.

"Much as I'd like to delude myself into believing that," he deadpanned, "I'm afraid it still doesn't change anything. This hearing isn't optional." He leaned forward. "The IOA have been breathing down our necks lately, holding that damn audit over our heads and pushing for this review with you."

"But –"

"I'm not saying that you have to like it," he held up a finger, "but I need you to take this seriously. Your cooperation would go a long way in helping to smooth some things over."

"But…we're in the middle of a situation here!" Her persuasive look was still in place, though her hands clenched nervously together at chest level. "What if Teal'c and Samantha and Cameron suddenly need me on Dakara?"

Landry sighed. "Ms. Mal Doran…"

"And Daniel has all those _extremely important_ translations that he needs my help with…"

He had been expecting _some_ protest, to be sure, but it surprised him just how intensely she was resisting the idea of going up to DC. Then again, he had spent months serving Senator Fisher the same flimsy excuses to keep the man and his absurd grudge away from Vala. In fact, part of why none of her ideas would get her out of the IOA interview now was because Landry had used them all up already. He couldn't tell her that, of course, but he did see where she was coming from.

" –and you know I can be of so _much_ more use to you here than trapped with the IOA in some stuffy government building!"

The General gave her a long look.

"You really think that you can do some good on Dakara?"

Vala's anxious expression was lit up by a sudden grin, and he rolled his eyes. It was doubtful that she could do anything on Dakara that Teal'c and Carter couldn't, but on the other hand, Hank didn't particularly appreciate the IOA bulldozing them into this situation in the first place. They could wait a few more days. He also knew that Vala might be more cooperative if she felt like she was doing the interview on her terms.

He shook his head. This conversation was not going quite as planned. "Alright," he relented finally. "As long as you understand that this only a temporary solution...I'll authorize you to join Mitchell, Teal'c and Carter on Dakara. Be ready in an hour."

She bounced out of her chair. "Yes!"

"Not so fast," his words stopped her halfway to the door. "Tell Dr. Jackson to gear up, too, he's going with you. And Ms. Mal Doran…" He stood up from his desk and gave her a warning glare. "I'm letting you go against my better judgment."

Vala nodded quickly. "I'll be on my best behaviour," she promised, then she was out of his office almost supernaturally fast, presumably before he could change his mind.

Landry stared at the open door, nursing a now full-blown headache. He looked up at a faint knock, and saw Walter standing in the doorway wearing a carefully neutral expression.

The chief master sergeant cleared his throat. "Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

"_No_," the General mouthed at him. "I don't need an opinion column, what I need is a damn aspi – " His lips pressed together when his assistant reached him a bottle of aspirin. He glared at the younger man. "One of these days, I'm gonna find out how you do that."

"Yes, Sir."

Landry gave him a dark look as he popped the cap on the bottle. "Alright, out with it, Harriman."

"Uhm… I'll just go ahead and add Ms. Mal Doran and Dr. Jackson to the diplomatic mission roster."

"Technically, Ms. Mal Doran isn't a 'Tau'ri'," the General caught Walter's unspoken concern as he walked to pick up the water glass on his desk. "So the Jaffa can't complain about that."

"And…Dr. Jackson?"

Landry turned back to face him. "If _she_'s going, they'll be _thanking_ me for sending him along."

* * *

Teal'c sat stiffly on the too-small chair, facing the rest of the High Council with a stony expression. The tent was large enough to contain the round table and all ten council members, but the hot, stale air and the knowledge of the ongoing destruction outside made it feel smaller, somehow. His own suppressed anger only added to the sensation.

" –and without a homeworld, our Free Jaffa Nation cannot hope to establish itself in front of those who would seek to deny us."

There were a couple of nods around the table, but Teal'c once again found himself disagreeing with Latal's words. He did feel sympathy for his fellow Jaffa's suffering - Latal had lost his home planet Kallana to the Ori, and then had relocated to Dakara just in time to see it, too, all but destroyed when the Ori ships had fired on the superweapon. So Teal'c could see where his radically separatist attitude came from... but it worried him deeply nonetheless.

"There are none left who seek to deny the Jaffa their freedom," he argued. "The Goa'uld are gone, as are the Ori. The galaxy is free of tyrants, and our people are free to build up a strong, proud nation."

"You have been gone too long, Teal'c," said Latal. "You do not see how others look upon us, how we are received on many planets. There used to be respect in people's eyes when they saw Jaffa, and acknowledgment of our strength as warriors! Now there is nothing, only a passing glance, a quick dismissal." He clenched his fists. "The Jaffa are losing their identity along with their planets, all because of the wars that the Tau'ri drag us into!"

"You assign blame incorrectly," Teal'c scowled. "And again we digress from the purpose of this meeting."

That was another problem that angered him. The High Council had been on Dakara for eight days, yet they could not agree to listen to their own common sense. Their discussions were filled with subtle power struggles, as the faction leaders reminded each other just how many supporters they each had, and the other councillors leveraged their battle-earned popularity. It was not the lack of a homeworld that kept the Jaffa Nation from standing together, it was its misguided leaders.

"We _have_ faced much worse than a few winds and quakes." Yat'yir, Gerak's former right hand, had capitalized on the old leader's death to rise to power and get a seat on the council. "Dakara is a world with a strong name and reputation. To make our home here would fortify our claim to autonomy and a place among this galaxy's great races."

"It is a death trap," Kal'el, the female Hak'tyl Resistance member, said softly. "I know what Dakara means to us as much as you do, Yat'yir, but I was trained to be a survivor, and I can no longer blind myself to the truth. Teal'c is right, if we cannot reverse the destruction, we must leave and choose a new homeworld."

"Leave? And when our new homeworld is threatened, then what?" Yat'yir's lips curled in a sneer. "Leave that one, too? Run again? How many worlds has the Hak'tyl movement abandoned, Kal'el? Four? Five?"

"How _dare_ you – my people did everything to stay alive and save others from the fate that Moloc would have condemned us to! We fought when we could win, and ran when we had to, so we could fight again until the false god was dead!" She glared at him, her hands gripping the edges of the round table. "It is only because our leader was wise enough to know when to retreat from a hopeless battle that we survived against Moloc's armies for years."

Teal'c silently bowed his head. He knew that Ishta, the leader of the Hak'tyl Resistance, was not nearly as willing to retreat from hopeless battles as Kal'el painted her to be. In fact, he could remember several times when it had taken all his skills to persuade her to run and fight another day. Still, she had been wise enough to see the truth of the situation each time, and put the welfare of her people above her own personal impulses and wishes. That, Teal'c pondered, was the mark of a true leader. He doubted Yat'yir would be able to do the same.

"Peace." Gerak's former lieutenant held up his hands, his expression still slightly derisive. "I do not mean to insult you, Kal'el."

"Then measure your words better," she growled. "I do not suggest to run out of cowardice, but we cannot defeat the forces of nature."

"I have warriors strong enough to endure this weather for as long as it takes," he boasted. "Hundreds of Jaffa, ready on my command to gather here and begin to rebuild a great city for all of us."

Teal'c's lips pressed together at the subtle reminder of Yat'yir's forces. Despite the fact that he had tried to force the Jaffa to follow Origin when the Ori seemed to be winning, the cunning Jaffa had not lost his influence. Teal'c had personally argued against allowing him on the High Council after Gerak's death, but Yat'yir had persuaded others and secured a spot. Still, that did not mean that he could be trusted to lead the Jaffa well.

"And I have hundreds more," added Latal, causing another displeased grimace from Teal'c. "Brothers, I beg of you, let us be strong against this trial, and we shall prevail and make Dakara once again into a home for all Jaffa! Where we can finally rule _ourselves_ –"

The ground beneath them began to shake once more, even more violently than before.

* * *

Mitchell pulled Sam out of the way just in time, as the ground split open beneath her feet and a stream of hot vapour burst out in the exact spot she had been standing a second before. His momentum caused both of them to lose their footing, and they crashed down among the rock-strewn ruins that used to be the majestic Dakaran temple. Carter let out a sharp cry as her shoulder landed against one of the jagged stones.

It took another few seconds for the latest earthquake to die down, and for Cam to pull himself halfway to his feet. "Remind me never to let a Jaffa travel agent book my vacation spot." He caught her elbow with one arm, and put the other on her back to help her up, too. "Sorry for the rough landing."

Sam gritted her teeth and winced as she stood, leaning against one of the waist-high stones for support. "Better than the alternative," she muttered. They looked toward the newly formed fissure. It was narrow, barely noticeable now that there was no steam coming out, but its very presence was sufficient reason for concern. "The terrain around the temple was the most stable in this entire area," Sam said gravely, "if it starts to give way, it won't be long before it really does become impossible to be on the surface."

"Can't say I'm surprised... Can you make it back to the tents before we look at that shoulder?" Cam pulled a roll of elastic bandage from his front pocket, but Sam waved him off.

"It's fine, just a scrape. But we should head back anyway," she looked toward the remains of the temple, a few hundred yards away. "I was going to take a look at the precise impact spots of the Ori weapons, but that area must be pretty shaky. We probably shouldn't be walking around there during any aftershock tremors…besides," she winced again as she rolled her shoulder, and looked at the topographic scanner she had somehow managed to hold on to during the fall, "I think I've got all I n –"

"Colonel Carter! Colonel Mitchell!" Rak'nor approached them from the general direction of the tents, his expression relaxing as he noticed that they both seemed to be in one piece. "I was concerned when I lost sight of you. The quakes are becoming worse, and there is another storm coming. We should wait inside the tents until it passes." He noticed that Sam was favouring her right shoulder. "Are you injured, Colonel Carter?"

She shook her head. "Just a slightly-too-close encounter with one of those geysers…"

Mitchell nodded to the new fissure a small distance away. "It thought it was Thanksgiving…and we were the turkeys," he added helpfully, earning a puzzled look from Rak'nor and an amused chuckle from Sam.

As they walked back toward the tents, more Jaffa came into view, all of them wearing concerned expressions at yet another bout of Dakara's inclement weather. The air was even harder to breathe than before, and Sam noticed that most of the Jaffa were casting uneasy glances toward the High Council's tent. They were probably wondering how long it would be before a decision was made… but she could not read from their expressions what decision they were hoping for.

"I'm sorry you did not get to finish your investigation, Colonel Carter," Rak'nor looked genuinely apologetic. "When the storm passes, I will personally accompany you back to the ruins of the temple."

"That's okay, I think –"

"So, Tau'ri, you have 'looked around' for hours, but it appears you did not find a way to make the ground stop shaking, after all." Haakon, the blond Jaffa bearing the mark of Cronus met them a few yards away from the main tent. "Perhaps the Tau'ri are not as capable of working miracles as they claim."

"Step back, Haakon," Rak'nor growled, while the two colonels exchanged an irritated glance, Mitchell rolling his eyes at the renewed hostilities. "The High Council has allowed Colonel Carter whatever she needs to try to help our people, and you will not disobey them again."

The other Jaffa scoffed. "The council is a flock of toothless old men and frightened women," he spat, though he did retreat a step.

"That is an insult!" Rak'nor took a few angry steps toward him. "They are the leaders we elected! And the oldest of them have led our brothers in glorious battles against the Goa'uld!"

"Maybe once, but all they're good for now is talking. The time for that is over, now is the time for action!" There were several silent nods from the men around, though most of them did not seem to want to interfere. "We have been here for days, and the High Council talks dawn to dusk, when the right decision was clear from the start. _Dakara is our sacred planet!_" the blond Jaffa shouted. "We will rebuild!"

A chorus of agreements broke out.

"Haakon." A middle-aged, blue-eyed Jaffa woman broke from the crowd. Her voice was calm, but her firm expression suggested that she was accustomed to being listened to. "Rak'nor is right. The council has accepted the Tau'ri's help, and it does us no good to go against their wishes. That will not stop Dakara from destruction, nor will it lend our decisions more wisdom."

"Birra, you better than anyone know what the price is for the Tau'ri's 'help'," the other Jaffa argued. "You and Latal were both on Kallana –"

"I remember that quite well," the woman – Birra – said icily, "I do not need you to remind me of the fate of my home."

"No, that is something we will never be able to forget. The last image we saw of our planet as we managed to escape through the Chapa'ai will be burned in our minds forever." Latal walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. Several other High Council members had also emerged from the tent, Teal'c among them. "I do not wish that fate on any of our brothers, yet I wish I could share my memories, so you too can see where our trust in others has led us." He shot the two Tau'ri a venomous look, then hurried to hold up his hands as Teal'c stepped forward. "No, I know… I know your opinion, and I will abide by it. But still I can wish that you saw the truth… the only way forward for the Jaffa is through our own powers, and under our own rules…"

"No one is contesting our right to self-govern, Latal," Tolok said tiredly. "Teal'c is right, there are none who would deny us."

"Not openly," the other replied, "but there other, more subtle ways to undermine our autonomy and ensure that the Jaffa Nation conforms to foreign interests. Our people cannot truly be free until we have severed our ties with..."

"This is a discussion we have had already." Tolok's tired tone was replaced by steely determination as he took a step forward, his presence commanding silence from the ever agitated crowd. At a respectable one hundred and seventy years, Tolok was the eldest on the High Council, and his word carried much weight. "We shall speak of it no more now. Our priority is Dakara." He turned to Sam. "Colonel Carter. Have you been able to discover any way to stop the ongoing destruction?"

Her expression was grim as she shook her head hesitantly. "No… not yet."

"I suspected as much," Latal commented, "and it seems to me, Colonel Carter, that that proves you can do nothing here…except interfere in affairs that do not concern you."

"It has only been a few hours, and we were interrupted by the storms," Rak'nor pointed out.

"And the rest of us have been here for many days," Latal retorted, "and yet we have not learned the cause of these harsh changes. I doubt that Colonel Carter, exceptional as she may be, will prove any more helpful –"

"Actually," Sam's eyebrows arched, though she tried to keep her tone and expression neutral, "I said I didn't find a way to _stop_ what's happening…_yet_. But I have a pretty good idea of what's causing all this."

Her admission produced mixed reactions from the Jaffa. Most of them looked hopeful, but there were still some whose expressions ranged from sceptical, to irritated, to downright threatening. Mitchell pressed his lips together and allowed himself the trace of smugness that Sam had so diplomatically suppressed: Latal looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.

* * *

The howling winds shook the tent so hard that several Jaffa had to position themselves next to the support poles to make sure they were not yanked from the ground. As before, there was no sound of rain, and barely a drop of moisture in the heavy air. The inside of the tent was dark despite the presence of a few lamps.

Sam sat cross-legged on the floor. The round table had been moved out of the way, to leave room for more Jaffa to hear her conclusions. In addition to the High Council, there were about ten others in the tent now; the remaining dozen or so Jaffa outside kept an eye on the other two tents, the ring platform and the stargate.

" –suspected something like this might be the case, so we spent a few hours mapping out the general pattern and direction of the cracks, and the incidence of geysers, volcano-like structures and all other manifestations of a subcrustal pressure imbalance."

"We, too, believed that the fissures were due to increased activity beneath the planet's surface," Tolok confirmed, "but that does not explain the weather, the violent windstorms…nor have I ever seen seismic activity to last this long."

Sam nodded. "That's because this isn't just naturally-occurring seismic activity." She held up the hand-held scanner she had brought with her. "My topographic scans revealed that this entire area is built on top of a tectonic boundary – in fact the exact contact spot between the two plates seems to be more or less directly underneath the temple, a couple of miles away."

"The Ancients would not have built the temple that held the superweapon on unstable ground!" Latal protested. "You must be wrong!"

"It wasn't unstable to begin with," she clarified, "the boundary could have had limited activity and been perfectly secure when the Ancients came to Dakara… and we don't know what the rest of the tectonic map looks like," she pointed out. "This area could've easily been the best and most stable place to hide the superweapon and place the stargate."

"How could it have been stable, if it is disintegrating before our very eyes?" Rak'nor looked troubled.

"I'm gonna guess that the Ori attack had something to do with that," Mitchell sighed and gave Sam a questioning glance.

"Impossible!" Latal cried again. "We have seen their ships' weapons, they were powerful but they could not have destroyed a planet to its core."

"Not on their own, no," Sam agreed. "But the Ori fired on the surface to destroy the Ancient superweapon. I think their combined firepower and the aftershock of the superweapon's explosion were strong enough to cause a subduction of the two tectonic plates…" she paused, and rephrased, as she had learned to do when there were too many blank expressions in the room. "The explosion was strong enough to turn the tectonic boundary in this area into an active fault line…which is now threatening the integrity of the Dakaran continental mass."

There was a brief silence as the Jaffa processed her conclusions. Outside, the violent winds continued to wail.

"Are you certain of this, Colonel Carter?" Tolok asked finally.

Sam bit her lips, mentally revising all the evidence. "I think so," she nodded. "A concentrated burst of power turning an inactive boundary into a hyperactive fault line could cause all the phenomena we're noticing on Dakara. The earthquakes, the cracks in the upper crust of the planet, rapid shifts in air pressure and temperature which could cause the abnormally strong winds… all of it fits together."

"Is there a way to stop it?"

Her grim expression gave away the answer before she even spoke. "The planet is undergoing an abrupt tectonic shift," she said finally. "This is a large-scale phenomenon, none of our technologies have anywhere near enough power or scope to interfere with plate motion in that way." She tried to think of a positive way to present the facts, but could not quite find it. "It's likely that the planet will not be destroyed," she pointed out in the end, although it was a poor consolation. "Ultimately, this kind of shift will settle on its own and go back to a state of equilibrium, but… over the course of a few million years."

Latal banged his fist against the table. "You mock us! Millions of years! What use will that be! We will all be dead, our entire galaxy could be gone by then! How dare you –"

"Colonel Carter is merely stating the facts," Teal'c interrupted in a cold tone of voice.

"That cannot be!" the man's voice sounded almost pleading. "How can we know that she's telling the truth?"

Sam held out her scanner. "There's a basic topographical map on that, and I'm sure you can adjust the sensors on your ships to confirm it," she suggested. "Geological readings, pressure gauges, seismic activity patterns, all those measures should point in the same direction, too."

"Then we will endure!" Latal argued. "What is a few quakes and winds to the strength of the Jaffa? Perhaps it is for the better, as no more benevolent strangers will wish to impose their visits upon us! The free Jaffa will rebuild Dakara, and the free Jaffa alone will be strong enough to live here!"

"Buddy, you weren't listening," Mitchell was also quickly losing patience, "_no one_'s gonna be strong enough to live here soon. This whole area's gonna break into tiny little pieces and float away on a river of lava!"

Next to him, Teal'c bowed his head for a second, then looked up at the other Council members. "We must leave Dakara before any lives are lost," he said firmly.

Tolok nodded, and the council member next to him, and another few around the table. The others still looked hesitant.

"Now that we know what is causing the destruction, we must take some time to think of a solution," Kal'el suggested. "Perhaps all is not lost."

"Perhaps." Teal'c took a deep breath. "However, it is neither necessary nor wise to remain on the surface."

"You would abandon our sacred planet, on the word of the Tau'ri! You are not truly –"

"Enough!" Tolok's shout resounded in the tent, loud enough to cover even the winds outside. "The Tau'ri have helped us find an answer we could not find ourselves. Teal'c was right to bring them along." He nodded briefly to the two colonels. "We all grieve at the loss of Dakara, but it is not the Tau'ri's doing."

"They brought the Ori here! They brought the Ori to Kallana! They –"

"Please," Kal'el spoke up in a soothing tone. "We must choose a course of action quickly, before the shifting plates destroy the very ground beneath our feet."

"We cannot abandon Dakara," Latal argued once more, his entreating tone devoid of most of his previous anger. "It is a place of hope for all Jaffa."

"I believe that Colonel Carter is right," Yat'yir conceded from his seat, and he shook his head at Latal's betrayed expression. "Dakara will shortly become uninhabitable. We cannot ask our people to live under its harsh conditions, in constant danger."

"Then find a solution, Colonel Carter!" Latal turned his persuasive gaze to Sam. "You claim to want to help!"

"I can try," she shook her head, "but like I said, neither of our people have the technology to impact tectonic plate motion at that scale."

"You have the legacy of the Asgard!" he accused.

Sam and Mitchell exchanged a bleak glance as they felt the eyes of all other Jaffa on them. They could not get into exactly why their team was probably banned for life from using the _Odyssey_.

"I can look into it," Sam agreed, "but I don't think even the Asgard had a way to –"

"Lies! The Asgard had technology far above that of even the Goa'uld," Latal pointed out belligerently. "The Tau'ri want our sacred planet for themselves, just like they want our people and our ships! You would have us believe that Dakara is beyond salvation, then bring more and more of your people and take it from us!"

As Latal spiralled into yet another speech on how the Tau'ri were planning to undermine the Free Jaffa Nation, Sam sighed and rubbed a tired hand to her cheek. Her shoulder was sore, her head ached and the thick air made her feel like she was suffocating. She was finding it harder and harder to keep her temper under the separatist Jaffa's constant stream of accusations, and from the looks on Cam and Teal'c's faces, they were even more incensed. Now Teal'c was arguing that he, too, had seen the Asgard technology at work many times, and also believed that they did not have a ready-made tectonic drift adjuster.

She almost laughed out loud at the thought. Latal's claims were ridiculous. He was simply looking for a fight, and Sam may have been sympathetic to his plight and emotions at first, but at this point she was hard-pressed not to shoot him.

Jack would've probably taken a swing at him by now.

A hand touched her shoulder and caused her to startle.

"You okay?" Mitchell mouthed, and Sam realized she had completely spaced out. She nodded, giving him a small smile, wishing she could express how much she wanted to get out of that loud, cramped tent and just go home. Then she felt bad. It wasn't all Jaffa's fault that some of them were obnoxious, and she couldn't hold them all responsible for Latal's aggression any more than anyone could hold her responsible for the IOA or Col. Maybourne or God-forbid, Senator Kinsey.

Strangely, that made her feel better, and Sam bit back a smile at the fact that thinking about Kinsey had had a positive effect. She briefly entertained the notion of pitching him and Latal against each other in a fight, and wondered who would win. So what if Kinsey was already dead, that didn't make it any less satisfying to imagine him in his pompous impeccable suit going up against a seething Jaffa warrior.

Sam sighed, and focused her attention back on the discussion in the tent. She knew she must have been quite tired and irritated for her thoughts to turn that nasty. Even in the direction someone who fully deserved it, like Latal.

The Jaffa in question had apparently had enough of the angry discussion, however, because as Sam finally snapped out of her exhausted daydream she was just in time to hear him throw one last frustrated remark at the rest of the council, before storming out of the tent with a dark look on his face.

A little surprised, she turned to Mitchell and Teal'c.

"Man, that guy really gives a whole new meaning to the old saying 'no good deed…'," Cam deadpanned.

Sam nodded silently, before looking at Tolok. "I can try to study the origin point of the fault line, beneath the temple, and see if there's anything at all that we can do...but I can't devise a large-scale subcrustal pressure equalizer from thin air."

The older Jaffa leader dipped his head, looking more tired than before. "We understand, Colonel Carter. Thank you for your efforts. We are very grateful."

"You will have to forgive Latal," Yat'yir spoke up. "He… does not truly blame the Tau'ri in particular. He is simply worried that we will lose our hard-earned freedom and autonomy, because there are many others in this galaxy who do not see a place for the Free Jaffa Nation."

"Yeah, just for the record, we're not among those 'others'," Mitchell clarified. "Sneaky take-overs aren't really our style."

Before anyone could reply, Haakon appeared in the tent entrance. "You might wish to reconsider that, Tau'ri," he sneered, then faced Tolok. "More of them have come through."

Carter and Mitchell exchanged another wary glance as they followed the Jaffa out of the tent and in the direction of the stargate. Within a few seconds, they began to hear the familiar voices:

" –hours of work, not to mention that I have no idea if the coffee will degrade the instructions tablet!"

"It was an _accident_… and it wouldn't even have happened if you didn't keep your mug right next to your precious translations."

"What, so now it's _my_ fault? What about the stack of papers strewn all over my floor, was that an accident too?"

"Yes, Daniel, turns out I get a little _clumsy_ when people are _yelling_ at me for _no reason_!"

Mitchell pinched the bridge of his nose. "Great," he muttered to Sam, who was walking beside him, "this planet didn't have _enough_ natural disasters..."

* * *

**Credits: part of this chapter was also co-written by domina tempore, and the technobabble is all courtesy of Myosotis. Also many thanks to SC and Tel nok shock for their edits and comments! And thank you, everyone who's reading, reviewing, and contacting us about this story. We're always very happy to hear your thoughts. **

.


	20. Irreparable Differences, pt 4

**Lots of credits for this one: to the rest of the team for all their help, Myosotis for all the technobabble, and for the history lesson (I'm very very bad at history), many thanks to StargateFFWriters for patiently answering my questions and helping me draw parallels! And of course to all of you out there reading and reviewing this :-) we're all very grateful! **

**Irreparable Differences, pt. 4**

A group of Jaffa stood at the centre of the ring platform, struggling to remain still despite the ominous vibrations in the ground. The transport rings finally descended, enveloping them in a bright golden light before taking them back to the Ha'tak that waited in orbit. A mere second later a loud _crack_ echoed across the plains, and a new fissure zigzagged its way along the weather-beaten stones, splitting the ring platform in half.

A hundred yards away, Teal'c and Rak'nor watched the commotion with concerned frowns, before returning to their efforts to take down one of the tents in preparation for all non-essential Jaffa leaving the surface. Other Jaffa and High Council members were helping with similar tasks around the rudimentary camp site.

Teal'c, however, could not entirely focus on the task at hand. "The transport rings are the only way to reach Yat'yir's Ha'tak." He cast another look at the platform. "They must not fail before evacuation is complete."

"If they do, there is still the Chapa'ai." Rak'nor struggled to pull one of the tent pins out of the ground, where it had been secured firmly in place to withstand the quakes and winds. "It will resist for a while longer."

"Perhaps, but many here would far prefer to evacuate to the ship." There was a note of bitterness in his voice – despite all reason dictating otherwise, several Jaffa still opposed leaving Dakara, and viewed remaining in orbit as a barely acceptable compromise. "We should send only supplies on the next transport," he suggested, "to ensure that the damage to the platform has not left the rings malfunctioning."

Kal'el, the Hak'tyl Resistance representative, put down the support pole she had been folding. "I will see to it," she nodded. "We are still having trouble communicating with the Ha'tak, but I will hold transports until we send a message through."

Teal'c bowed his head in silent thanks, and returned to unfolding a portion of the tent as she left them. Still, he looked uneasy.

"Many will wish to return," he said after another moment of silence. "Dakara is the homeworld they dreamed of. Leaving the surface will not be the end of this."

"But it will save the lives of many of us." Rak'nor's expression was earnest. "If you had not come back to address the High Council, we might have lingered here arguing until the planet destroyed us all."

"Instead, I have convinced the council to abandon our sacred world."

The younger Jaffa stopped digging up another pin to give him an honest look. "Indecision is not a virtue, Teal'c. The council may have refused to acknowledge it, but we all knew even before you came that leaving Dakara was the correct course of action."

Yet neither of them denied that it would be Teal'c who would be remembered for the decision … and blamed for it.

The ground shook again, and Teal'c instinctively turned his head, his eyes searching for the familiar silhouettes at the far end of the plains, near the temple ruins.

"Or perhaps Colonel Carter will find a solution," Rak'nor said, noticing the direction of his gaze.

Teal'c sighed. "I fear that even then, some of the council members would resist it."

His protégé's supportive smile dimmed somewhat. "At least now we know what is happening to Dakara," he said. "That might be enough to make even the angriest among us look for more rational solutions."

"To the recolonization matter, perhaps," Teal'c looked grim, "but Latal and his followers will still wish to break ties with the Tau'ri, and separate from all those we call friends."

"_Hilk'sha, Tau'ri_."As if to confirm his words, a resentful mutter erupted from a small distance away.

Teal'c turned his head and noticed Daniel making his way over past a couple of young, disgruntled-looking Jaffa who, just as Latal, wore the mark of Cronus. The archaeologist held up his hands to signal that everything was alright, and arched his eyebrows as he finally reached Teal'c and Rak'nor.

"Not the friendliest neighbourhood I've ever been in," he said dryly, then looked at the half-disassembled tent that the two Jaffa were working on. "Need an extra hand?"

"Were you not studying the temple ruins, Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel grimaced. "Yeah, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Sam thinks the Ancients may have planned for an eventual tectonic incident in this area, and might have possibly left behind a way to deal with it."

Rak'nor looked up with sudden hope. "Colonel Carter believes there is a way to save Dakara?"

"Er – I don't know, it's a long shot, but that's pretty much all we have at this point, so…"

Teal'c, too, sounded encouraged by the notion. "Have you discovered anything to indicate that the Ancients could have indeed provided for this set of circumstances?"

"Not _exactly_…we're still looking, but we need a little extra digging equipment." He gave Teal'c a half-exasperated, half-apologetic look. "Tried asking one of the Jaffa packing up the tents, but I think all our poking around the temple ruins is making some of them a little…twitchy."

Teal'c pressed his lips together ever so slightly, which for him was a sign of great displeasure.

"Anyway… I figured we shouldn't overtax their hospitality, and I could just ask you and Rak'nor instead."

The Jaffa nodded. "Of course." He paused for a moment, then met Daniel's eyes, his expression "I must apologize, Daniel Jackson, for the actions of those Jaffa."

"No you don't," Daniel assured. "Besides, they haven't really said anything since Vala and I got here. Mitchell just thinks we should be extra careful."

Teal'c looked away. "I feel…responsible for how Colonel Mitchell and Colonel Carter were treated."

"Uhm, I'm pretty sure _they_ don't think you're responsible."

"Nevertheless, I am contrite. If I had not brought them here, they would not have suffered the insults and accusations of the separatist Jaffa."

"Well… " Daniel arched his eyebrows. "You can think of the reception _you_ used to get when we dragged you to villages that had been under Goa'uld rule," he suggested, "and we'll call it even."

Teal'c met his eyes and almost-smiled.

* * *

Mitchell sighed as he watched Daniel and Vala get into yet another argument. He couldn't hear what they were saying over the wind, but at this point he had a pretty good idea of most of their repertoire.

The two of them had been in some sort of funk, lately. Push come to shove, Jackson and Vala could work well together, and sometimes they even complemented each other in a way that made the whole team better… but then there were those _other_ times…

As the winds died down again, he began to make our their words.

" –don't see how this is my responsibility in any way." Vala's huff was cut short when she began coughing after accidentally inhaling a lungful of smoke from the nearby fissures.

Daniel waved one hand to disperse the sudden smoke cloud, and he thrust a water bottle at her. "If you hadn't bullied Landry into sending us here, I'd be peacefully working on my – _intact_ –translation now."

"I didn't tell him to send _you_!" Vala immediately turned to Mitchell, although he was standing a few yards away. "Cameron, please explain to Daniel that I don't control General Landry's decisions."

The colonel rolled his eyes. A small distance away, Sam looked up from her topographic scanner long enough to give him a sympathetic glance.

At least the hostile separatist Jaffa were keeping their distance, giving him one less thing to worry about. It could have been because the High Council had finally decided that they should return to the Ha'tak in orbit, and so they were busy preparing to leave (or in the case of some, arguing against it.) It could also have been because the team was currently surveying the fissure-strewn, murky area around the temple ruins, and no one wanted to spend too much time on a terrain where they ran the risk of being swallowed up by a sinkhole or roasted alive by a geyser at any second.

But Cam suspected the arrival of his last two teammates was at least partly responsible for the Jaffa giving them a wide berth, even if some of Latal's cronies still hovered around the edges of the temple area harbouring menacing expressions.

He gave Daniel and Vala a no-nonsense glare. "We're not exactly winning a lot of popularity votes here, people," he pointed out, "so maybe you two could quit trying to _prove_ Latal's case that the Tau'ri are a bunch of _maniacs_."

The archaeologist sighed and cast a worried glance toward the unfriendly Jaffa. "I didn't realize things were this bad between us and them," he admitted. "Or with Dakara."

"Yeah, it's been a real picnic." Cam grimaced and lifted the collar of his jacket against the intensifying wind. "Did you find anything useful?"

Daniel shook his head. "There are hundreds of broken off pieces from the temple walls, but I doubt the writings on any of them would tell us how to deal with _this_." He waved a hand to indicate their grim surroundings.

"We tried to uncover more of the remains of that old pipe system that Samantha found," Vala put in, "but our friends over there seem to get a little touchy whenever we try digging. Which might be a blessing in disguise," she murmured, poking the abandoned shovel with the tip of her boot, "I've never been a big fan of manual labour."

The archaeologist gave her a sideways glance, but said nothing. Her complaints about the tiresome digging were what had sparked their earlier squabble in the first place.

" Did Sam have any more luck figuring out what the pipes were or where they led to?" asked Daniel.

"She said something about a pressure release system… she's trying to map it out but it ain't exactly easy with the ground shaking and shifting every minute." He turned back to where he had last seen Sam. "Carter, any luck –"

He trailed off abruptly, his expression changing to one of concern. The blonde colonel was nowhere in sight.

"Carter!" He ran the small distance to where she had been working only a minute before. "Carter! Son of a –" The place where she had last been standing was now a gaping sinkhole, and it was too deep or too dark for him to even see the bottom. "_Sam_‼"

* * *

It had all happened so suddenly that she had not had time to react, let alone call for help. One second she was kneeling by the shattered remains of a temple chamber, trying to interpret the readings from her scanner, and the next she was plummeting at great speed down to unknown depths. It had been over before she even realized what was happening, and it was a few moments before her brain could process everything.

First, she felt great surprise at being alive. That was followed almost immediately by equally great concern about how to keep herself that way. Then came all the other thoughts in a rush: the rest of the team, the planet, the Jaffa, and about a dozen different plans of action that began to form at the same time.

Sam shook her head in an attempt to clear it, and took a deep breath. Her shoulder still hurt from the earlier strain, and now her back felt sore, too. Not an unusual consequence of being swallowed up by an unexpected sinkhole.

It was pitch dark, but by groping the ground around her she found the topographic scanner, and luckily she always carried a flashlight in her jacket. It had survived the fall, too, and Sam spared a moment of appreciation for its manufacturers. Then she switched it on, and let out a gasp of surprise.

Instead of finding herself buried in an unlikely air pocket under tons of dirt, she saw the bright beam reflecting off well-polished walls. Old, to be sure, unsophisticated, earthen walls, but undoubtedly man-made. Moving the flashlight in a circle around the space revealed more surprises. Some sort of thigh-high structure sat in the middle of the room, covered by what looked like two feet of dust, and the far wall was covered in writing. Sam couldn't read the symbols, but she bet Daniel would be able to. She grinned to herself – it had been a stroke of luck after all that their last two teammates had arrived unexpectedly, and even Cam would have to admit it.

Thinking of the rest of SG-1 shifted her priorities again, and she reached for the radio in her pocket.

"Mitchell, this is Carter, can you read me?" The discouraging static hiss echoed loudly in the small underground chamber. "This is Carter," she repeated, "can anyone hear me?"

After another few seconds of silence, she rolled her eyes. As Cam was so fond of saying, things were never easy.

She used the flashlight to examine the space further, hoping to see an exit. There were several gaps and holes in the walls, but none of them large enough to suggest a possible escape route. The most hopeful prospect was a pile of rubble near where she had landed, which looked to have once been an exit, but unfortunately it had caved in at some point and trying to make her way out through there would take a lot of desperation. And possibly a bulldozer.

The ceiling was also half caved-in, and Sam realized the geological disturbances on the surface were affecting the underground just as much. She would have to make her way out quickly, before a strong earthquake destroyed the chamber completely. After a minute of struggle and dragging over several rocks, she managed to reach the large opening that she had fallen through. There was no way to climb back up, as the ground was too soft and kept falling through her fingers whenever she tried to get a grip. But the radio signal had a better chance of making it out if it didn't have to bounce off the chamber walls, or take any interference from whatever machinery was in the chamber.

She reached a hand up as far as she could, wincing as her back and shoulder protested, and activated the radio once again. "This is Carter, can anyone read me? Hello? Cam? I repeat, this is –"

"_Sam!_"

Her face broke into a wide grin as Mitchell's voice came through, unclear and hampered by static but a joy to her ears nonetheless.

"_Are you okay? Where are you?_"

Still stretching her arm up the gap in the ceiling, to make sure the radio did not lose its signal, Sam craned her neck to survey the strange underground chamber.

"I'm fine. The unstable ground must've created another sinkhole... but you're not going to believe what I think I've found…"

* * *

"There's good news and bad news." Sam coughed, trying to clear the now-constant smoke from her lungs. Her voice was hoarse, and it did not help that she had to shout to be heard over the wind and the hissing of the steaming fissures. "When we were here last time digging for the Ark, I saw evidence of an underground hydraulic system of sorts, but at the time that wasn't what we were looking for, so I didn't examine it in detail."

She coughed again, and Vala helpfully handed her a water bottle. Everyone else waited in silence, the rest of the team and several members of the High Council all standing precariously among the ever-shifting rocky area around the ruins of the great temple of Dakara.

"But given what's happening now and what the topographic scans show," Sam resumed after a few second, "there was reason to think that system may have been part of some sort of failsafe mechanism that the Ancients installed. We…found an underground chamber" (she exchanged a smile with Mitchell at her casual glazing over how exactly she had found said chamber), "that holds information on a system of valves and pressure equalizers spread out over this entire area. It seems that the Ancients really did plan for the unlikely case of increased tectonic activity, and built a large-scale pressure release system that might be able to control the damage from the hyperactive fault line."

Excited murmurs broke out among the Jaffa. Even Latal was silent, not daring to speak against the Tau'ri at such a time.

"You believe Dakara can be saved?" Kal'el's eyes shone with hope.

Sam looked away for a moment, and bit her lips. "It's… possible," she said finally. "The failsafe system was designed to provide a release for the eventual build-up of subcrustal pressure, and, in the event of increased seismic activity, to detect the active epicentres and compensate for the force imbalances to prevent the kind of cataclysms that Dakara is experiencing right now."

"Then we must activate the failsafe immediately!" the female Jaffa cried, but her enthusiasm dimmed somewhat when she noticed Sam's grimace.

"Right… that's the bad news." She took a deep breath. "The underground chamber we found seems to be some sort of central control room for the entire system, and from what Daniel could read of its instructions, it was supposed to activate automatically if the seismic activity ever crossed a particular threshold."

"But… it didn't activate." Kal'el frowned, almost in despair. "Are you saying it's broken?"

"It must have been damaged in the Ori attack and the ensuing superweapon explosion," Sam admitted. "The room itself is in pretty bad shape, and the console that was supposed to automatically activate all the pressure release points distributed across this entire area isn't working right."

"Colonel Carter," Tolok spoke in his deep, low voice, "can you fix it? Can you save Dakara?"

Sam swallowed hard. "I don't think I can fix the automatic activation system in time," she replied. "But the information that Daniel's been able to translate suggests that the failsafe network is made out of several control nodes spread out in this area, each of which activates a subset of exhaust valves and equalizers. If we can trigger each node manually…"

"How many nodes are there," Tolok asked, "and how will we find them?"

"The 'user's manual' wasn't that clear on it," Daniel sighed. "But I think there should be about ten - fifteen or so, within a radius of a few miles."

"We don't have a lot of time," Sam warned. "If the seismic activity progresses at a constant rate, this area will become highly unstable in a matter of hours, making it impossible to search for and activate the control nodes."

"Can you show us what to look for, Colonel Carter?" Tolok looked ready to take action, and several other council members shared his enthusiasm. "We will organize groups to search and trigger each node."

Sam nodded. "Daniel found a map of the initial node locations in the control chamber. Unfortunately the terrain shifts might have displaced or damaged some of the nodes, but it's a place to start. We'll have to find a way to get to the nodes that were buried by sinkholes or fissures. And they need to be activated in a particular order, so we'll need to coordinate…"

She paused, and bit her lower lip. There was one last thing she wanted to say, but felt that it was not her place to say it. Teal'c, however, read her mind.

"In order for this effort to succeed," he warned in a serious tone, "we must all work together." His gaze stopped on Latal for a long moment. "Any unnecessary conflict will only delay us, and may cost us the chance to save Dakara."

Latal faced him with a challenging look. "I am well aware of what is at stake, Teal'c. You need not worry that my personal beliefs will interfere with us saving our homeworld." His eyes shifted to Sam. "If this succeeds, I will be the first to express my gratitude, Colonel Carter."

Somehow, she did not feel reassured.

* * *

Mitchell felt a droplet of sweat make its way down his neck. The wind had died down completely, leaving the already murky air even heavier with smoke and hot vapours from the every-multiplying cracks in the upper crust of the planet. It was almost impossible to keep his eyes open, as they watered constantly. Breathing was an even bigger effort. Now the heat was unbearable. He did not need Sam to tell him that things were getting worse on Dakara… they were running out of time, _fast_.

Against all odds, the operation to locate the control nodes and manually activate them went smoothly. Every High Council member, Teal'c included, volunteered for the search, and it was decided that all but two them would lead a small group of Jaffa to one location on the map. Meanwhile, Yat'yir agreed to remain on his Ha'tak and monitor the tectonic shifts from orbit using the ship's superior sensors. Cha'ra, Moloc's former First Prime and one of the newer council members, would remain in proximity to the stargate and ring platform in case an emergency evacuation was needed.

Within a few hours, each group had found (and sometimes, unburied and repaired) a control node, and SG-1, with the advantage of Sam's quick grasp of the location patterns and ability to fix the nodes much faster, had uncovered three. That still left a few nodes unaccounted for. The search had slowed down, and with everyone feeling that they were so close, yet could not quite finish the job, tempers were fraying more than ever before.

"Cam!" He jumped as Sam's raised voice snapped him out of his reverie. She was kneeling by a nearby sinkhole, anchored to him by a thick length of rope, and was currently giving him an odd look. He wondered how long she'd been trying to get his attention. "Everything okay?"

"Yup… just enjoyin' the view." His expression was wry as he nodded toward the smoky wasteland. "How's the plumbing work going?"

"I think I've found another control node, but it's partly buried with this sinkhole so it's going to be tricky to get at it." She frowned, and lightly poked the edges of the sinkhole with a foot-long metal rod, looking displeased when the ground immediately shifted beneath the rod. "The area's growing more and more unstable. If we don't get this done soon we might lose the whole failsafe system itself."

"Can you skip this node and activate the others?"

She shook her head. "As far as I can tell, they're set up in a serial configuration. Skipping one will disrupt all the subsequent ones in the system, causing the pressure release cycle to be incomplete." She cautiously shifted back from the edges of the sinkhole before slowly getting back to her feet, clearly wary of repeating the earlier experience. "We can't do it manually, but if we're lucky, the remote activation function on this particular node is still intact, so I can configure a signal to be sent via one of the Jaffa's shortwave transmitters… but we'll still need to change the topography of this sinkhole enough to allow the signal through."

"Alright… how do we do that?"

Sam considered the question for a moment. "I think a controlled weight redistribution in its surrounding area should restructure the sinkhole… I'll need to work out the viscosity coefficient and the oscillatory amplitudes necessary to shift it in the right direction…" She picked up the scanner from where it was lying a few feet away, and entered a few commands into it.

"We'll need more than just the three of us to provide the necessary mass to shift it." Vala was sitting on a nearby boulder, looking disappointedly at her empty water bottle. Her voice, too, bore the same note of tiredness as the rest of them. "We should get some of the Jaffa to help."

Sam nodded in agreement, but Mitchell felt less confident. "Let's wait for Teal'c and Jackson to get back," he suggested.

The Jaffa were not known for their patience, and the wait to activate the control nodes combined with the ever-worsening conditions on the planet was making even the wisest of them irritable and volatile. Two of the Jaffa in Kal'el's group had gotten into a fight and almost caused the node they had secure to be lost in a sudden quake. Some Jaffa had been injured, too, and there had been vicious arguments as to who would have to return to the Ha'tak and who got to stay on. Tolok himself had had to threaten another council member when the younger Jaffa refused to go get treatment for his broken leg.

As for Latal and what remained of his group, they had remained surprisingly silent, but Cam had not missed the unfriendly glares that some of them cast in the direction of him and his team. He sighed as he noticed the Jaffa in question standing just a small distance away, along with some of his followers.

"He doesn't like you much," Vala commented, following the direction of his gaze. "You know, I always got along with the Jaffa." She casually flipped her hair over her shoulder, though in its limp, sweat-drenched condition it missed the dramatic flair she was going for. "I could try talking to –"

"Don't even think about it." Mitchell pulled his cap off in a futile attempt to get cooler. "You're not going anywhere near any Jaffa that isn't Teal'c."

Sam looked up from her work again. "I don't know, Cam. We need to get to this control node," she emphasized. "It's one of the first in the cycle, if we don't activate it I doubt the pressure release will be strong enough to have any impact on the seismic activity. And we don't know how long it'll take Daniel and Teal'c to get back… we don't have any time to lose."

"Alright," he acknowledged. "I'll get Rak'nor, or any of the Jaffa who _don't_ want to throw _us_ down one of those sinkholes. But we're not going anywhere near –"

"Too late," Vala warned in a low voice, and Cam turned to witness a group of four Jaffa, lead by Haakon, marching toward them. Their expressions looked decidedly unfriendly.

"Great." Mitchell briefly considered radioing Teal'c for help, then he fought the urge to pull out his Zat gun. Before he had a chance to actually do anything, the four were upon them.

Vala had slipped off the boulder and was now standing warily at his shoulder. Sam, too, had abandoned the buried node and had come to stand on his other side.

"Alright people," Cam told the Jaffa, "now's really not the time for–"

"You required assistance?" Haakon asked.

" – a playground squ … what?" The colonel shook his head. "Come again?"

The blond Jaffa clenched his jaw. "You appear to be in need of assistance, Tau'ri," he growled. "Latal has sent us to aid you in your efforts." He looked about as pleased with his leader's request as Cam had been when Landry had invited him to go bird-watching.

"Uhm. He sent you… to _help_ us," he repeated for further clarification. Haakon nodded curtly. "And you agreed." Another impatient nod. Mitchell tilted his head. "You do see why we might be a little surprised here, right?"

"I don't care about your surprise, Tau'ri," the wiry Jaffa spat. "We will assist you with this control node! Stop wasting time!"

Sam and Vala exchanged a glance, and the dark-haired woman bit her lips to hide an amused grin. Then Sam looked to Mitchell, shrugged and nodded toward the sinkhole. They did need the help.

Cam shook his head and gave Haakon a wry look. "Well… when you put it _that_ way…"

* * *

Daniel wiped the sweat from his eyes for the fifth time, and reached for his radio. "Sam, this is Daniel."

There was a brief silence, then…

"_Go ahead, Daniel_."

"We've got the first node ready to go. Should we activate it, or wait for the others to be ready?"

"_Give me a few minutes, please._" Even with the abysmal quality of the radio signal, he could tell that she sounded at the end of her patience. "_We'll be done here soon, and then I'd like to double check the serial order of the nodes._" There was another pause, then she came through again, sounding, if possible, even more irritated. "_Can you tell everyone else to stand by and wait for my signal?_"

A few feet away, Rak'nor spoke up. "I will personally deliver the message to the two groups outside transmitter range."

Daniel nodded, and spoke into the radio again. "Yup, we're on it. Take your time…" he surveyed the area, which now looked less like an inhabitable planet and more like a toxic swamp, "…ish," he amended.

Her voice came after another second, and he again heard the note of exasperation. "_We'll try to hurry. Trust me, we all want this to be done. Carter out._"

As Rak'nor left them to convey the message to the others, Daniel put away the radio, silently wondering what was going on on Sam's end that made her sound so annoyed. He briefly considered it may have been Vala, but then admitted to himself that it was unlikely. She and Sam usually got along, and they would probably not have chosen a high-tension, dangerous situation to have a fight.

Not that that stopped Vala when it came to him, of course. Okay, maybe he could have been a little more gracious, but really, she had derailed his plans at the SGC, dragged him along to Dakara and then spent the whole time complaining about the conditions! Well, maybe not the _whole_ time, but still. Anyway, she would definitely not be subjecting Sam to any of that. Alright, so maybe he was normally a _little_ more patient and less sarcastic with Sam, too, but…

Daniel shook his head. That whole train of thought was moot, and the last thing he wanted to spend his time on. He mentally rolled his eyes at the fact that Vala somehow managed to be a distraction even when she wasn't present.

He forced his attention back to Teal'c. The Jaffa was staring silently across the crack-marred plains, concern etched on his face. Daniel again felt a pang of sympathy.

"It'll work out," he assured."Sam's going to get that failsafe network working, and Dakara will be fine in no time."

Teal'c turned a troubled gaze to him.

"But will its people?" he asked softly. "We are divided. Many of the faction leaders do not care to think about the good of the Free Jaffa Nation as a whole, and choose instead to focus on paltry power games and assertions of their own influence." He shook his head, disappointed. "Even as we work together, I see it. Today, more than ever before. We are all Jaffa… yet people like Yat'yir and Latal encourage their followers to be loyal to them and their own interests, rather than to the larger Jaffa Nation."

"I know," Daniel sighed, "it's what tends to happen when you try to make a nation come together from a lot of different factions."

"Colonel Carter once told me that similar efforts have been attempted repeatedly in the history of the Tau'ri." His expression was questioning, and Daniel nodded.

"It's happened several times on Earth. One notable example is actually our own country," he revealed. "The U.S. started out as separate states with their own more or less independent governments… until a few visionary people came along and pushed for the states to band together under a common constitution."

"Were the states' leaders not reluctant to give up their own influence and authority and become subject to a common set of rules?"

"Uhm," the archaeologist rubbed a hand against his neck. "I guess, at first they must have been. But… eventually these few men of vision convinced everyone that uniting into one nation made the most sense economically and politically."

Teal'c's expression was thoughtful. "They must have been great men indeed, to persuade all the faction leaders to rally behind an idea that would restrain their individual autonomy."

"Well, we like to think so. It wasn't easy, I imagine. I guess at the end of the day, it was a matter of showing the local governments that uniting was in everyone's best interests, and superseded the individual interests. It wasn't done overnight. Some of the states took longer to join, and there were still conflicts for decades… but … it worked out eventually." He gave the Jaffa an encouraging look. "It takes time."

Teal'c let out a slow breath, and met his eyes. "We have time, Daniel Jackson. What I am not so certain about is visionary leaders."

"You have those too," Daniel replied earnestly. "I'm looking at one."

The Jaffa dipped his head in acknowledgment of the compliment, and they were both silent for a moment.

"I would like to know more about these Tau'ri men who brought your country together," Teal'c said finally. "And their views on diplomacy in such –"

"_Jackson_!" Mitchell's voice suddenly came through the radio, breathless. They could hear the sound of shouting in the background. "_The node, now_!"

Daniel and Teal'c stared at each other for a second, then they both reached for the unburied Ancient device.

* * *

From the corner of her eye, Sam saw Mitchell rolling on the ground, his arms clenched around one of the Jaffa. She saw Vala distracting another a few yards away. She didn't know where the third one was, and there was no way to look for him, because all her attention was focused on the tall, sandy-haired Jaffa in front of her.

She hoped Daniel had given the signal to activate the control nodes that came before theirs, but just in case he hadn't, she planned to make sure the buried node would only be triggered on her terms, damn it.

"Give me the remote transmitter, Tau'ri or I'll make you regret it!"

Haakon's face was streaked with dirt from the scuffle, but he was more than ready to tackle her and get the shortwave transmitter that would trigger the node. She had been lucky to keep it from him when he had made an unexpected grab for it… before all four of Latal's followers had decided to suddenly break their uneasy truce.

"You can' t activate this node first," she yelled for the tenth time, "it'll break the cycle! We need to wait for all the other –"

"You have no right to keep us waiting!" he shouted back, and tried to get past her again. Sam managed to trip him and keep the shortwave transmitter away from him, but he was back on his feet and even angrier than before. "You'll pay for this, Tau'ri!"

"The control nodes have to be triggered in order, or the failsafe network won't go online all at once!"

"You lie!" he roared.

"I'm not lying!" she was desperate. The blond Jaffa had lost patience as soon as she had confirmed that the node was now able to receive remote commands, and had begun to insist that they activate it. "I thought you wanted to help us! This will only make things worse!"

She noticed Mitchell was now facing down two opponents. Vala had moved out of her line of sight, but she could still hear the other woman somewhere behind.

" Please, we still have one more node to find, it can't be much longer, just wait!"

She could hear shouting in the distance, and hoped that help was on the way, but she did not dare take her eyes off Haakon. He was advancing on her again, and she backed up a few steps, but was afraid to move too much on the unsteady terrain.

"Stop!" she urged him again. "You'll destroy our only chance to reduce the seismic activity!"

"I don't believe you! You're just trying to stall to do more damage to our sacred world. Latal is right, you only wish to –"

"That's enough!" Sam finally erupted, sick of trying to reason with him. "All I've been trying to do since I got here was _help_," she accused, "and because of you and your arrogant, paranoid, _dense_ friends we've gotten to the point where the planet's falling apart right under our feet and I am running out of patience!" She noticed him trying to come at her again, and picked up the only weapon she could find, one of the discarded shovels, but did not pause for a moment in her enraged tirade. "I've had enough of your attitude, and I haven't spent all this time trying to fix things only to have you come along and undo it all, so _stand down_," she all but roared, "or so help me _God_ I will do all of us a favour and _put_ you down!"

He didn't listen.

With a loud grunt, he came at her again, and Sam swung the shovel and caught him in the solar plexus. It slowed him down some, but he still slammed into her, his momentum throwing them both off their feet. By some feat of will, she managed to hold on to the shovel, and brought it down on his back as hard as she could as soon as they hit the ground. He let out another painful grunt, but still managed to keep going and yank the shortwave transmitter out of her hand. She kicked him hard, and they rolled over, this way and that, Haakon slowly getting the upper hand, smiling down on her smugly…

With one final effort, Sam clenched her fingers around the wooden handle of the shovel, and hit him hard in the stomach when the angle was right. It caused him to momentarily let go, and she pushed herself backward and away from him. He began to crawl after her, but she put an end to it with a well aimed kick, which may have been a little more vicious than strictly necessary, but had felt most gratifying. When the Jaffa looked like he was bracing himself to get back up and come at her again, she slammed the metal tip of the shovel into the ground two inches from his face, and gave him a murderous glare when he lifted his head to look at her.

Haakon flopped back down with a resigned grunt.

Sam let out a long breath, clenching her teeth as every bone in her body hurt, and her shoulder felt like it had been ripped out of its socket. She finally noticed Daniel, Teal'c, and half a dozen or so Jaffa running toward her as fast as they could…

… but they were still a good distance away, while standing right there, barely a few yards away, next to the spot that held the buried control node, was Latal…

… and to Sam's dismay, he was holding the shortwave transmitter in his palm.

She couldn't keep the expression of horror off her face.

"Stop," she rasped. "You're going to cause the pressure release mechanism to only partially activate. It might not be enough, Dakara could continue this way for hundreds of years."

He gave her a dark look. "You attacked my men."

"That's not how it happened, and you know it." She was not in the mood to be diplomatic any longer.

Latal squeezed the transmitter in his palm. "I knew nothing good could come of your presence here." He sounded almost sad. "Even when you try to help, things go wrong. People get hurt."

"None of this was our fault."

"It is your fault that you did not listen. You should have gone back to your own planet." He cast a look around at the desolate, apocalyptic landscape. "We just want to be left alone. It is our decision. It is our right. We have lost enough." His expression grew angry. "And the Tau'ri have no right to be a part of any decision we make!"

"If you activate that node –"

"Then that is my decision!" he shouted. "And right or wrong, at least we will know we brought the consequences on ourselves!"

"You can't make that call for all of your people!" Sam argued.

"Neither can you!" His eyes were bloodshot. "Neither can the Tau'ri! It is our right to decide! Our homeworld! Our lives!" He met her eyes with a fervent glare. "Listening to you has only brought our people to disaster. But much as you try to stop it, the Jaffa _will_ make their own path." He lifted the transmitter.

"_No_!" Sam's eyes widened.

And with an abrupt gesture, Latal threw her the transmitter.

Sam's hand automatically went up to catch it.

Once she had it in her palm, she almost did not know what to do with it, so unexpected was this turn of events. She looked at Latal in utter surprise. His eyes held the same dark gaze, and his grim, low tone held an unmistakable note of warning when he spoke again.

"Finish your work here, Tau'ri," he told her, "and remember my words."

Then he walked right past her and leaned down to help Haakon up. Sam was still staring at him in shock when Daniel, Teal'c and the other Jaffa arrived a few seconds later.

_Epilogue_

The plains around the former Dakaran temple looked just as gloomy as before, with deep cracks extending from one end to the other, as far as the eye could see. Ash and other residue stained the ground and clung to the rocks. The sky was still an ominous, leaden grey.

But there was a light breeze, and a noticeable change in the air. The smoke had mostly cleared, few fissures were still steaming and no new geysers had formed since the Ancient failsafe mechanism had been engaged. It was still hotter than normal, and every now and then a dull vibration could be felt in the ground, but Dakara was no longer being torn apart by the abrupt tectonic activity.

"We are in your debt." Tolok grasped Mitchell's hand near the elbow in the traditional Jaffa gesture. He then gave Sam a deep bow, his eyes filled with gratitude, and pulled Teal'c aside to say his goodbyes before heading toward the ring platform.

The rest of SG-1 watched as the last of the Jaffa prepared to leave the surface.

"Good to see you're not moving in 'til renovations are done," Mitchell joked. In all honesty, he was not feeling particularly humorous, but he supposed a pleasant goodbye beat stalking off through the stargate in a huff when it came to upholding diplomatic relations.

Rak'nor seemed to be thinking along the same lines, and smiled and skirted around the thorny issue of Tau'ri - Jaffa tensions with the same grace. "The High Council has agreed that there is no reason to attempt recolonization before the failsafe relieves the tectonic pressure build-up. After all, we have waited hundreds of years to reclaim Dakara, we can wait another…" He gave Sam a questioning look. "Six months? Eight?"

"Give or take." She sounded even less inclined to make small-talk, but she smiled nonetheless. "We engaged the failsafe mechanism much later than the Ancients had intended, so the recovery process will take a little longer."

"It does not matter. We are all grateful that you were able to find the mechanism at all." There had been a lot of that, too. Every other Jaffa was professing undying gratitude. Of course, Latal and Yat'yir were conspicuously absent from those heartfelt declarations. "We will leave a small contingent on a nearby moon, so they can check periodically and inform us when the planet is ready for recolonization."

Sam gave another slightly-forced smile, and Cam felt for her. She looked exhausted. When Rak'nor turned to talk to Daniel, he leaned toward her, close enough to whisper.

"You're a trooper." She turned her head slightly, to give him a questioning glance. "I'm surprised you aren't out there chasing all of them around with that shovel," he quipped.

Sam sighed tiredly and shook her head. "Any chance we can leave that part out of the mission report?"

"Are you kidding, that's my favourite part," Cam whispered back. "Well, that and the John McClane style warning you gave the guy beforehand." He arched his eyebrows. "Now I know not to make you mad."

That earned him a small but genuine grin, and she gave him a sideways glance. "You mean you didn't know already?"

They exchanged another amused glance. A small distance away, Teal'c shook Tolok's hand one last time, and slowly made his way back to the stargate, nodding his goodbyes to other Jaffa as he went.

Finally, he said goodbye to Rak'nor.

"Come back to us soon," the younger Jaffa urged again. "You have seen today how our people need you."

Teal'c's expression grew pensive, and he made no comment. He had indeed seen much that day, and he was not sure how much of if it he liked. "Until I do return, I trust you to speak in my name, as always, my friend."

"It will be my honour."

They exchanged another few words and at last, Rak'nor stepped back from the platform. Mitchell turned to Daniel, and could not help a long sigh as he said the words he had been waiting to say since the second they had set foot on Dakara.

"Dial us home, Jackson."

And he could swear there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone involved.


	21. Blackout, pt 1

**Guys, remember the wave of approval Teal'c got at the end of 'Legacy'? Well, this time it was definitely Sam's turn to feel the love, as all of you expressed in your reviews ;-). ****Thanks so much to everyone following this story - all of us on the VS team are very happy to know you're enjoying it! **

**Blackout, pt. 1**

"The final run of simulations yielded the best parameters so far, and I've calibrated the jamming field to block out the gate's naquadah signature. The Asgard beam won't be able to get a lock on it." Colonel Samantha Carter pulled a page out of the thin folder she had brought in, and slipped it across the desk to her commanding officer. "Actually, no transmission-based technology that Earth has so far, Asgard or otherwise, should be able to penetrate the field once we get it up and running."

General Landry looked impressed as he studied the numbers on the paper. "What about our own signals? Radio, IDCs?"

At that, Carter grimaced. "The jamming field needs to be high intensity, otherwise the Asgard beam would have no problem locking onto a signal as strong as the one from the stargate. Unfortunately a field that strong will also jam all our other signals. I'm working on a way around that."

"And once you find it? Will we be able to set up the jamming field on a permanent basis around the gate room?"

"There's still the problem of powering it," she admitted.

"Even with the Asgard upgrades you installed on our electric grids?"

The blonde nodded. "The upgrades made things a little faster and more efficient, but they don't provide an alternative power source," she explained. "Running the stargate already takes a lot of energy, and adding a round-the-clock high-intensity EM field will probably run up our electricity bill…"

Landry studied the paper for a moment longer before putting it down. "I think that would qualify as a reasonable expense," he pointed out.

"Yes, Sir…" She paused and looked away a little hesitantly, before meeting his eyes again. "Sir…"

"Do I think that someone's going to try to steal the stargate?" he anticipated.

Sam's silent look was answer enough.

"No," the General said slowly. "Notwithstanding the time that the Goa'uld tried to blow it up, or make us shut it down, or that incident with the Russian's gate, I'd say no one's tried something quite that insane yet." He paused, then tilted his head and arched his eyebrows. "However, Earth now has access to the Asgard technology on board the _Odyssey_, and the _Odyssey_ is at the disposal of the higher-ups in the DC – the _same_ higher-ups who, we suspect, might be involved in a plot with the Lucians."

He held out a hand for her report, and Sam passed it to him.

"We may not know exactly who's behind the conspiracy yet," Landry continued as he replaced the paper inside the thin folder, then placed the whole thing inside a locked desk drawer, "but I'm not taking any chances. _Despite_ what the IOA thinks, the stargate is one of Earth's best lines of defence, and I'll be damned if I'll let someone beam it out from under my nose."

"Yes, Sir." Her tone was neutral.

He gave her a knowing look. "Feel free to call me paranoid."

Sam's serious expression was broken by a small smile. "No, Sir, I think I actually agree."

"Really." The General's eyebrows rose. "Because at my age paranoia is more excusable, Colonel. Not sure _you_'ve got an excuse."

"Well, we did use Thor's ship once to beam a stargate into space," she pointed out, still smiling, "and Thor was able to repeatedly transport General O'Neill out of the SGC with no warning. If anyone involved in the DC conspiracy has access to the Asgard beam, I'd definitely feel better knowing they can't use it against this base."

"Ah. Glad we're on the same page, then. Still," his tone became dry and he gave her a meaningful look, "let's continue to keep this under wraps. _I_ may think this little side project is a useful expense, but I doubt the IOA would agree."

She couldn't help a fleeing expression of irritation at his mention of the antagonistic, always-looking-over-their-shoulder oversight committee. "Don't worry, Sir… I'm not planning to talk to them anytime soon."

As she spoke, her thoughts involuntarily went to two other members of her team, who sadly could not make the same claim.

"None of us would if we had a choice." As before, the General seemed to read her mind (Sam made a note to work on her poker-face… maybe Vala could give her a few tips when she returned to base). "Colonel Mitchell looked like he was considering deserting when I sent him up to DC with Ms. Mal Doran."

Sam let out a small chuckle. "I can't blame him... either of them, actually. Not after the 'interview' I had to give last year after being trapped in that alternate reality."

"Ah, one of _my_ more pleasant memories," Landry smirked, "but not exactly what President Hayes wanted to hear the year before he was up for re-election."

Sam mirrored his grin, although she remembered quite well the endless interview in which the IOA and the President had asked, a dozen times over, exactly what had happened in the alternate universe she had travelled to. She really did not envy Vala... and the alien woman had looked a nervous wreck before leaving for DC earlier that morning. Sam hoped that Cam would be able to cheer her up a little on the plane ride up. And she had already asked Jack to discreetly keep an eye out for them…

"Don't worry, Colonel," the General reassured her, "I'm sure Ms. Mal Doran and Colonel Mitchell will survive even the IOA." And he really did believe it. Sure, Vala would probably get grilled and have to put up with the attitude of some officious IOA jerks (Fisher first among them), but Landry thought he had done a good enough job over the past few months of diverting their anger to himself. So if she managed to keep her head down and not insult anyone's manhood for a few hours, he imagined they'd drop it at that.

Not that _she_ believed that. Much as he'd tried to explain that this interview was probably just a disgruntled politician flexing his muscles, Ms. Mal Doran had pretty much had to be chased down that morning like a wayward schoolchild on the first day of class. And damn if she did not look like he was sending her to face a shooting squadron. Landry had almost been tempted to go with her himself.

But of course, sympathy or not, the SGC commander could not simply drop everything and jump on a plane to DC. And Colonel Mitchell was more than up to the task of calming down Ms. Mal Doran and instructing her on how to make the interview go smoothly. And Landry had surreptitiously called Jack and asked him to sit in on it…just to make sure.

"Probably," the blonde colonel replied, "although I'm sure they'd rather take their chances with the Lucians."

Before any of them could say anything else, the lights suddenly flickered for a few seconds. Sam looked up, a little surprised. When she met Landry's eyes again, he arched his eyebrows.

"Did you leave an experiment running, Colonel?" he teased good-naturedly.

The lights flickered again.

"Not me, Sir," Sam assured him…

…and the lights turned off completely.

There was a brief silence, while they both waited for the power to come back on.

"Colonel." Landry sounded suspiciously calm. "That electricity bill you mentioned earlier… we did pay it, right?"

* * *

The orange emergency lights were on, but although the base was on alert, none of them were flashing because that would have used too much power. Walter's voice came through the speakers, repeating some announcement related to required protocols.

Sam followed General Landry as he set a brisk pace down the dimmer-than-usual SGC corridor. "A blackout? Wow. I didn't think the Asgard technology could do that."

"Neither did I, Colonel," Landry pressed the elevator button before realizing that most elevators were out of order on emergency power, and his scowl deepened, "and neither did the President. He's not happy. Apparently someone on the _Odyssey_ science team reported a malfunction and admitted he'd been 'trying something new' with the Asgard core." He turned to give her a wry look. "And before you ask, no it wasn't Dr. Lee. I checked."

Sam frowned doubtfully. "Sir, I'm not sure I understand how _any_ amount of experimenting with the Asgard core could cause an outage in an unconnected power grid. Besides, how did it even reach our part of the state? The _Odyssey_ hangar is hours away."

"I don't understand either, but that's not the worst of it." The General stopped by a stairway exit. "According to the President, the malfunction is causing some sort of chain reaction in other high clearance facilities, and of course the geniuses that triggered it don't know how to stop it." He gave her an expectant look as he yanked open the door to the stairway.

Sam's eyebrows arched in surprise. "I'm not sure I can help from here," she said cautiously as she followed him down the stairs, "without even knowing what the problem is on the _Odyssey_ or what they did to the Asgard core…"

"That's what I said," he agreed without turning, "but, you _are_ the foremost expert on Asgard technology on the planet, so as soon as we get our back-up generators fully running, I'll have Walter set up a video call and patch you through to the _Odyssey_."

"Yes, Sir."

Landry opened the door to a lower level, and gave her a serious look. "In the meantime, I'd like you to try to find out why _our_ power is out. Like you said, it doesn't make any sense that a fuse blows out on the _Odyssey_ and the lights turn off _here_. And I don't like it."

Sam nodded and followed him back into another dim corridor and all the way to one of the main mechanical rooms, where a team of SGC technicians was assembled around an impressive array of electric panels. They were so engrossed in the repairs that they did not even notice the General walking up to them, until he boomed:

"Siler." He met the master sergeant's gaze when the man startled and turned. "Why are half our back-up systems offline?"

"Sir. Uhm, the generator was in the middle of a reset cycle when the power went out, and that caused a little hitch when it tried to go online automatically."

Landry's eyebrows arched meaningfully. "Can we fix it?"

"Yes, Sir." The sergeant glanced over his shoulder at the repair team, then back at his commander. "Half an hour and all our back-up generators should be up and running, Sir."

"Will the stargate work at our current power levels?"

"It's online," the man confirmed, "but we shouldn't dial out or we might blow out the generators, especially the ones not at full capacity."

"What about if someone dials in?"

Siler looked unsure. "Uh, it's fifty-fifty…"

Landry frowned, but nodded."Get those generators working. Walter."

His assistant almost seemed to appear out of thin air at his side, at the ready as usual. "We have two teams offworld and scheduled to return in the next three to six hours, Sir," he said without waiting for the question. "SG-6 and SG-15."

The General nodded again, and gave his two men a serious look. "Let's make sure the gate works by the time our people want to come home."

He walked away from the mechanical room, and Sam fell into stride beside him once more.

"Sir, I'm going to use one of the main terminals on this level to track down the source of the outage on base," she suggested. "I'll let you know as soon as I have something."

"Do it, Colonel. I'll send Walter for you when he's got the conference call ready with the _Odyssey_. Hopefully they'll be able to give you more information on what caused this damn circus in the first place."

Before Sam could reply, a shrill ringing went off behind them, and they both turned toward the source of the noise. A small distance down the hall, Walter was picking up one of the closed-circuit wall phones.

"This is Harriman." He listened for a second, then met the General's gaze with a somewhat confused expression. "Uh, okay. Yes, he's right here." He held out the phone to Landry, mouthing: "It's for you, Sir. Cpl. Mason up at surface level."

Landry walked over and took the receiver. "Landry, go ahead Corporal." He frowned as he listened to the voice on the other side. "They're _what_? What do you mean, here?" His scowl only grew deeper as he listened further. "Keep them up there, Corporal, I'm on my way."

He hung up and turned to Carter with a dry look. "Forget about that video call, Colonel. Apparently the _Odyssey_ science team decided to pay us a surprise visit."

* * *

Landry wasted no time on lengthy greetings as he met the three-person group waiting at the surface level of the SGC. The security guards saluted when he and Col. Carter approached, then they took a step back to let him speak to the newcomers.

"Dr. Lee. I see you decided to bring some company."

Bill Lee shook his head vehemently enough that his round glasses almost flew off. "Not me," he assured the General, "I filed a formal protest against this plan of action. But Col. Davidson overruled me."

"So it's Davidson I have to thank for this visit." Landry was suddenly regretting not making Ian Davidson fill out more reports during his time as an SG team leader.

"General Landry." One of the two strangers behind Dr. Lee, a tall, bony man with a pinched face and protruding forehead, stepped forward and held out a hand. "Dr. Samuel Thompson, science team coordinator on the _Odyssey_. And of course, I've already met Dr. Carter," he said with a smile in her direction. His teeth looked too big for his face.

Landry looked at the outstretched hand before giving it a brief, perfunctory shake, all the while keeping a deadpan expression.

"Since Stargate Command and the White House have also been reporting power issues," Dr. Thompson continued, "we decided to split our personnel to cover all affected areas. Fortunately the Asgard beam was still online when we left..." He scratched his tall, balding forehead. "We used it to transport us approximately to this location, although we did have to walk through a rather unfriendly patch of woods to get to the main gate… Now, I understand this isn't exactly ideal circumstances for us to meet, but –"

"Doctor," Landry interrupted. "I just went up thirty-four flights of stairs to get here. I want to know who's responsible for that."

The pinch-faced Dr. Thompson turned to glare at the last member of their group. The man, who looked a good twenty years younger, blushed a little and stepped up.

"Uh, I'm afraid that would be me."He scratched behind his right year, looking more than a little awkward.

"General Landry. Dr. Cas Layton," the _Odyssey_ chief scientist introduced. "Dr. Layton was behind the experiment that caused the cascade failure in the _Odyssey_ power system...and of course the unexpected side effects here and in DC."

Trust scientists to call a blackout spread out over several states, 'side effects'. Landry did a mental eye roll before turning to Sam.

"Col. Carter. Can you sit down with the _Odyssey_ team and figure out this whole mess?" He knew she would get the translation – can you babysit them long enough to get to the bottom of the problem? – and was pleased when she nodded. "Good. Then let's not waste any time."

He motioned the small group to pass through the gate, then waited a small distance away as they each signed in as per required protocol. Since Dr. Lee was part of the SGC, he signed in quickly by simply swiping his ID card, and took the opportunity to approach Landry.

"I'm very sorry about this, General, I did warn Dr. Thompson that it made no sense to beam the two of them over here. If you ask me, they just wanted to get away from Col. Davidson." He cleared his throat a little uncomfortably. "He was very…displeased… when the Asgard core and half the ship's systems went offline suddenly."

Landry gave him a long look. "I know _exactly_ how he felt, Doctor."

"Oh, right, of course." Dr. Lee cleared his throat again. "Well, now that I'm back, if there's anything I can do…"

"You can help Col. Carter babysit those two," Landry said frankly. "Figure out how to get the power back on, and make sure they stay out of the way."

As they proceeded back down into the heart of the SGC, descending endless flights of stairs coated in the dim orange glow of the back-up lights, Landry wondered if perhaps he should have gone up to DC that morning, after all.

* * *

Vala walked up the mobile staircase as slowly as she could, constantly casting nervous glances around at the dozen or so airmen who walked about the small military airport.

"We gotta make it up to DC _today_, Vala." A few steps behind, Cam put a hand on her shoulder to gently push her forward when she stopped halfway up the steps again. "So stop looking like that plane door's about to jump out and eat you, and get on board…"

She swallowed hard, looked left and right one last time and finally stepped on board the plane. Mitchell followed her in at a brisker pace, and signalled two airmen on the runway that it was safe to take away the staircase. Then he ushered Vala into the main cabin, nodding appreciatively at the six spacious leather seats. Landry had been true to his promise and booked a 'diplomatic trip' for them, in one of the newer military models.

Which was the _least_ the General could do, in his opinion, given their destination.

"Great, now we can make ourselves comfortable and enjoy the ride." He noticed Vala still staring out the window and tapping a foot nervously. "Would you quit fidgeting, you're like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Wouldn't have pegged _you_ for the nervous flier."

She turned to him, her hands twisting nervously. "I don't want to go. Please, let's just turn back, there _has_ to be another way."

"Ma'am," the copilot came up behind her, "you need to take a seat and buckle up." Her only reply was a wary glance, and she did not move from her spot in the middle of the cabin. The man mistook her behaviour for flight anxiety, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it should be a nice smooth ride to DC. This is top of the line in military aircraft," he gave her a complicit wink, "plus some nifty improvements from our E.T. buddies."

Even Mitchell could not help feeling a little excited about _that. _Vala, on the other hand, only looked more apprehensive as her eyes darted quickly from the front to the back exit doors to the plane.

Finally, she let the copilot guide her to a seat and dropped onto the leather cushion, her hands absently gripping the seatbelt. As soon as Mitchell had sat down across from her, she faced him with the same pleading expression. "Look, I know we've had our differences lately, and you're still angry about that whole Ata House incident, but there must some small part of you that doesn't want this!"

Cam gave her a baffled look, as the routine pilot announcements went off in the background and the plane slowly started moving. "There's a _big_ part of me that doesn't want this," he said. "This ain't exactly how I planned to spend my weekend either, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So buckle up, sit back and stop putting up a fuss."

"No!" She stood up abruptly, the two halves of her seatbelt falling by the wayside.

He startled for a second, then let out an irritated breath and put a hand on her shoulder to urge her back into the seat. "Would you sit down before they make us drive there instead?" He took in her anxious expression, and shook his head in confusion."What's gotten into you?"

Vala was gripping the armrests of her seat and looked ready to bolt at any second. "Cameron, please, I know you're trying to make this easier…but you can't expect me to just go quietly!"

"Wh –yes, that's _exactly_ what I'm expecting you to do!" He rolled his eyes, exasperated. "I get that you don't wanna deal with the bureaucratic nightmare, hell, I don't either, but you need to get a grip and settle down. This ain't gonna _look_ good if I have to drag you in there, kicking and screaming!"

The colour drained out of her face at his last words, and she gave him a shocked look. Finally, she dropped back into the seat, her expression a mixture of misery and panic. "I didn't remember that I had it, I swear. And I stole it two years ago, that was before I really got to know all of you!" She passed both hands through her hair and gave him a distressed look "I'm sorry!"

Mitchell felt the familiar slight jolt as the plane took off. Across from him, Vala pressed her palms to her face in a classic gesture of anguish.

Cam stared at her in confusion. Top of the line military plane or not, this was so not going to be a smooth ride.


	22. Blackout, pt 2

**Blackout, pt. 2**

Mitchell stood in the middle of the cabin and stared at his teammate, utterly perplexed.

"Please explain to me what crazy parallel reality we ended up in, 'cause that's the only way I can see us going from where we were fifteen minutes ago to _this_."

Out of her seat again and standing tensely with her back against one of the airplane windows, Vala was watching him with a cornered expression.

"I'm not going to let this happen," she warned between shaky breaths. "I didn't mean to hide the power crystal from you, I just didn't realize that I had it until we saw the device at the Ata House! I hadn't even opened that bag in two years!"

"Can you…" Cam shook his head. "Back up a little here, okay? Power crystal?" He couldn't make sense of her words. "Device...? Hang on…" he shook his head again, "y_ou_ have the missing part of that Ancient energy converter?"

"I didn't know it was the missing part!" she cried. "Back when I stole it, I thought it was a just nice large gem that would be fitting compensation for my troubles! I had _no_ idea what it really was until after the auction!"

He started at her for another long moment, before it dawned on him abruptly. "You took the power crystal when we found the Ancient treasure in England." He almost felt a stab of relief at the sudden comprehension, then sighed as he thought about the implications, and rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, you'll just give it back when we go back to base and say you forgot about it. Now would you please calm down and _sit down_."

But Vala continued to regard him with the same panicked expression. "I've already been locked up enough times since coming to Earth. I'm not going to let it happen again, I _can't_ –"

"Vala," the colonel interrupted with another eye roll, "it's just an old power crystal. No one's locking you up because you nicked it from under our noses two years ago." He held up his hands in an appeasing gesture. "So stop acting like a crazy person, alright? We'll give the damn thing to Sam when we get back, and that'll be the end of it."

"Oh, please!" there was an edge of desperation to her cynical tone. "You and I both know those people up there in DC don't want me anywhere near your precious stargate, and it was only a matter of time before General finally had enough and decided to get rid of me!"

"What –_where_ is this _coming_ from?" He was back to the baffled staring. And nothing that Vala was saying was making things any clearer.

"Even if you don't believe me…I _really_ wanted to be here, and I _tried_ to help," she said miserably. "But however much I may have wanted to stay, I'd rather take my chances out there," she waved in the general direction of the sky, "than let your president throw me in some mouldy underground cell for the rest of my life!"

"Again, not gonna happen," he reiterated. "Not that it ain't reassuring to see this rare and precious demonstration of guilt about stealing something, but –_whoa_!" Cam had taken a step toward her, and in response Vala retreated a few quick steps back, moving by the emergency exit. His eyes widened when her hand moved to the large red door handle. "What the hell are you doing?"

It was then that Cameron began to realize this went far beyond nerves and some shiny Ancient gem. Granted, Vala was never the most rational of people, but he had never seen her act like this, either.

She pressed her lips together and gave him a determined look.

"I'm sorry, but since you're already angry with me, you can go ahead and tell those nice gentlemen in the cockpit to turn this plane around. We're not going to be attending that 'interview' after all."

* * *

"Wait, so you _intentionally_ linked up the _Odyssey_ to a local power grid?"

Sam's incredulous voice echoed off the walls of her lab, and the dark-haired _Odyssey_ scientist cringed. Seated next to him at the long workbench, his pinched-faced supervisor gave him a disdainful look.

"I meant to test whether the Asgard core could serve as an alternative power supply in case of an emergency," Dr. Cas Layton explained. "It was supposed to be a two-minute test, slip the grid onto the core, measure any fluctuations, then disconnect it immediately. In theory, if it worked we could have used the technique as an emergency back-up plan for any power system in the country…"

"In _theory_…!" Sam emphasized, still slightly shocked. "The Asgard technology is far too advanced to interact fluidly with local power grids. We spent weeks upgrading our own systems just to be able to interface with some of the more _basic_ Asgard functions!"

"I thought I could compensate for the discrepancies in technology level by simulating a model of the power grid using Asgard design, then replacing most of the parameters by zeroes until the result approximated the actual structure of the grid…"

"Preposterous," _Odyssey_ chief science coordinator Dr. Thompson scoffed. "I warned you it wouldn't work."

Dr. Layton shifted slightly in his tall chair, and shot the older man a half-chastised, half-impatient look. "It worked in simulations!" He turned to Sam. "The Asgard-based model with the reduced complexity was a 99% match to the local power structures. I wrote an algorithm for the Asgard core to power _that_ type of energy system, and the simulations were perfect."

Sam pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to prevent too much exasperation from showing in her expression. She was all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, and understood that everyone makes mistakes…but then someone brilliant enough to work on the _Odyssey_ should really not be making mistakes that plunged several top-secret government facilities into chaos!

"There are too many variables for it to work in reality," she explained slowly. "Ninety-nine percent isn't enough. Even an identical match would still have a good chance of failing against a rudimentary local power grid…"

"I thought I took all the precautions," he admitted, looking forlorn.

Sam sighed. "At the very least it would have been good to put an if statement into the algorithm that would automatically return the power grid to its regular supply if the projected sum of upcoming fluctuations exceeded a threshold…"

"Of course!" The lanky, older Dr. Thompson exclaimed with a vigorous nod.

"I did!" Dr. Layton held out a few papers to her across the workbench. "The algorithm was designed to immediately abort the merger with the Asgard core if the energy levels in the local grid showed any abnormal patterns."

His supervisor gave him a haughty look beneath his nearly-nonexistent eyebrows. "There must have been a flaw in your code, because obviously that didn't work."

"There was no flaw…" Dr. Layton murmured, his ears reddening.

"We already looked over the code," the older man retorted, "and your calculations of the projected fluctuations are off. And I told you that using cell structures instead of numeric will eventually introduce a bug!"

"I used numeric variables like you told us to!" the dark-haired scientist protested, then look a little ashamed at his outburst.

Sam gave him a quick glance, then looked back at the algorithm design. "Actually, I found that cell structures mesh a lot better with the Asgard databases," she commented. "The Asgard numeric system is different enough from ours that the conversions take up more time and memory. Using cells lets us operate within their numerical system right off the bat."

She flipped another page, and took a moment to study it before looking up at Dr. Layton.

"I can't see anything wrong with the calculations. If this was implemented in exactly this form, it should have returned the local power grid to its own supply without incident."

"It did," he said, "that's not where the blackout started." He looked to Dr. Thompson and sighed. "That's what I've been trying to tell you."

* * *

The only sound in the passenger cabin was the steady hum of the engines, but Mitchell could not appreciate its soothing quality very much at the moment. Instead, he stared disbelievingly at Vala, who over the past twenty minutes had somehow gone from being slightly jittery to downright crackers. And now she was genuinely determined to turn the plane around. Which, had it been anyone else, Mitchell would have deemed impossible. This was after all a top-secret high-tech military plane with three well-trained Air force officers on board.

But Vala was not anyone else. Vala was Vala, and today she seemed to be Vala in the throes of some serious emotional crisis, which meant that all bets were off.

"Okay, I think I missed a few memos here," he stated with forced calm, "so how about we sit down and you loop me in and then we can _talk_ about what's botherin' you, starting with that damn Ancient power crystal."

But his plea went unheeded, as the woman shook her head. "I think it's a little too late for that." Her voice was hoarse.

The cabin that had seemed so wide and luxurious to him half an hour before now felt almost claustrophobic. When he took another step toward her, she backed up and gripped the emergency door handle with both hands and a desperate expression.

"Would you –" Cam pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. "Just step away from that door. Vala, this is not the best time and place to be having a…_panic attack_, or whatever this is."

"_This_," she countered, "is self-preservation, and considering that I'm about to be turned over to the IOA, I'd say it's _exactly_ the best time and place for it! I've seen firsthand what your government does to people like me, and I don't plan to make it easy for them!"

"Yeah, I got _that_ part, believe me," he muttered, "it's the rest of it that doesn't make any sense!" Cam paused as her words fully processed. "Firsthand…?" He frowned. "This is about more than just that power crystal, isn't it?"

She looked away. Cam pressed two fingers between his eyebrows.

"Damn it, Vala, is this about that false memory? I thought we talked about that, you know it wasn't real." They _had_ talked about it. She'd seemed _fine_. Had he just missed the warning signs?

"It's not about that…" Vala's half-hearted protest trailed off under his anxious look, "…it's not _just_…I'm aware that it was a fabrication, Cameron," she swallowed hard, her voice filling with bitter humour, "but it does paint an ironically accurate picture of what my future looks like if your government gets their hands on me, and –"

"No, it _doesn't_. Look, I know _exactly_ how real it feels to you," he tapped his own temple in a silent reminder that he really did understand, "and that was some seriously screwy scenario we made up, but it was _just. That_. A made-up scenario. Remember? The whole thing was something we _invented_ to trap Adria. It would never actually happen in real –"

"Of course it could happen!" she cried. "Your government _hates_ me! Even now that they can't hold Tomin and Adria against me anymore, they still think I'm going to turn around and cheat you first chance I get! And there's still a list of past transgressions a mile long that I can't exactly _deny_, and you heard that irritating IOA man on board the _Odyssey_ wondering what I'm still doing working with you –"

"What, this is because of something _Johnson_ said to you? The IOA hates all of us!" Cam took another deep breath to quell his growing concern. "I hate to break it to you, but you're not special."

But Vala barely seemed to be listening, and instead still gripped the emergency exit handle tightly, a haunted look in her eyes.

"I thought after the Ori invasion ended, I'd have a chance to make up for all the stupid things I did," she said in a quavering voice. "We'd go on missions, and maybe I'd get a chance to help you do your hero thing and save the day, and maybe everyone would finally buy that I'm not just biding my time with you, waiting for a better offer to come along!"

"No one thinks –"

"But everything keeps turning out wrong!" The last word wrenched painfully from her. "I haven't been able to fix anything, I endangered your alliance with the Tok'ra, got your precious _Odyssey_ shot at by Lucians, and I lied about that power crystal, Daniel's mad at me _all the time_, and your government is still calling for my head! And after the latest fiasco with the Ata House and losing all that money and nearly getting us all executed…" her voice broke, but she finished anyway. "General Landry is probably happy for any excuse to get rid of me!"

A small shiver went through her body, but she wiped her tears away and straightened her shoulders, and gave him an almost challenging look.

Mitchell's jaw was clenched, and there was a sudden, shocked understanding in his eyes. "_That's_ why you've been acting so… all over the place, lately. Ignoring orders, taking crazy chances." His tone was low, soft. "Damn it. Vala, it's been weeks, why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Yes, like what," she laughed bitterly, "'I'm aware that my personal history makes me a prime candidate for being fired and thrown into jail, oh and by the way, I also still have _stolen goods in the back of my closet_!'"

He closed his eyes for a second, and sighed. "That would've been a start," he said finally. "And _please_ move away from that emergency exit because you're sure as hell not getting off this plane before it lands." His expression was one of grim resolve, but once again Vala seemed to barely register his words.

"I was _planning_ to tell you all about that power crystal, once I realized I had it," she said with a sad shake of her head. "I just wanted to…have a win, first. Save the day, do something _useful_, come up with some brilliant insight like the rest of you do all the time. Then maybe the General would think twice about telling me to leave, and you wouldn't all think I was just …" She pressed the back of her free hand to her nose and sniffled, and Cam found the sight even more heartrending when she met his eyes with a desolate look. "I _did_ want to be here! Even with the Ori gone, even after everything... I _wanted_ to stay on and help you do all your crazy world-saving things!"

"No one's doubting any of that! Vala, you don't have anything to prove. Not to me, not to anyone at the SGC." He lowered his head to give her a serious look. "I get what's going on in your head. But you're way off. _Way_, way off. Landry isn't trying to get rid of you," he pleaded, "if he was he wouldn't have spent _months_ running interference for you with DC."

"He's sending me to them, and he sent you to guard me and make sure I don't escape on the way!"

"Yeah, that's _not_ what's going on here –"

"And I know Daniel would say that I should own up to all the mistakes I've made," she spoke right over him, "and take the consequences like a grown-up…but doesn't trying count for _some_thing? Yes, maybe General Landry has _plenty_ of reasons to want me fired, but..." she faltered for a second, "I don't want to end up in some secret IOA prison! I just – I _can't_ spend the rest of my life like that!"

Her look of genuine panic sent a new wave of concern through Mitchell. Vala didn't do panic, not like this. He'd seen her deal with the prospect of going to jail, heck he'd seen her _in_ jail a couple of times… this was different. Scary different.

"We're just flying up there for an interview," he repeated, trying to keep his tone reassuring although he could hear a note of desperation creeping in. "It's just some stupid senator with too much time on his hands trying to make things difficult. Your _life_ doesn't hang in the balance here. Not even your job does. The worst thing that can happen is –"

"No." She forced her voice to be steady, and lifted her chin. "Don't try to lie to me. I know perfectly well what can happen. Once I walk into that government building, any _one_ of those people can do whatever they want to me with just a snap of their fingers. And as everyone keeps pointing out," (Cam winced, recalling how casually they all joked it about it sometimes) "they have plenty of grounds to lock me up in a very small, dark hole, and throw away the key!" She swallowed again, her expression determined. "I like my chances better if I don't give them the opportunity to make that call."

Cam rubbed his hands tiredly across his face, wondering how many of his own quips and teases she had taken to heart. "Damn it. Vala, I get why you're reacting like this, and I'm sorry I didn't figure it out earlier. Okay? I should've realized you were scared."

"I'm not –" She started to deny it, but since she was pretty much shaking from head to toe, gave up. "I wish things had worked out," she said instead, "but…"

"Things did work out!" Damn it, how long had she been thinking this way? "Things _are_ working out. Look, Vala…" he took another step toward her, "I know you spent weeks building up this little horror story in your head, and I'm _really_ sorry that you went through that. You have no idea…" He closed his eyes for a moment, then met her gaze again. "But it's not real, it's _crazy talk_, so would you please just –"

"_No_! No matter how much you claim otherwise, I know you don't have any power to stop your government from doing whatever they want! And I'm done deluding myself into thinking I can still fix things!" She swallowed hard again. "And if I can't stay, well then I'd rather not wait until someone decides I've outlived my usefulness. I'm not going to that 'interview' and I am asking you as a friend…please don't stand in my way."

A very determined Cam was about to inform her that he would indeed stand in her way, but before he could get a word out, the world tilted suddenly beneath them as the plane lurched violently to one side, then sunk into a nosedive.

* * *

When the plane had suddenly tilted, Mitchell found himself grabbing onto the back of a nearby seat to stay mostly upright, while Vala wasn't so lucky and was thrown forcefully against the emergency exit door by the sudden momentum. The seatbelt signs flared up. Rhythmic alert klaxons were echoing from the pilots' cabin.

"Vala!" Before he could find his footing again and go help the woman, the plane lurched once more, to the other side, and this time Mitchell did end up toppling over the side of the seat and onto the floor. The lights flickered on and off.

For a few seconds, it was all he could do to stay still and get his bearings, then the colonel rolled onto his back with a grunt, trying to compensate for the wild rocking of the floor and get back on his feet. He hoped his shortness of breath was due to adrenaline and not a falling oxygen level.

"Here." Vala's hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder, helping him up. "The engines are still going but I think we're flying without instruments. We need to check on the pilots."

The plane lurched again, but this time Cam was prepared, and he held on tight to the back of a chair. A look out the window confirmed that the engines seemed in one piece, although they hummed more loudly than before.

Staying upright with a balance that could only have resulted from her years of flying unstable cargo ships, Vala had managed to open the little cabinet near the back and extract a med kit.

"We might need this. Oh, and take one of these, too." She tossed him a portable oxygen mask. "The cabin looks like it'll stay pressurized, but it doesn't hurt to have them just in case."

He had missed the mask and was about to retrieve it from the floor, when another lurch had them both gripping the nearest nailed down object. Cam took the opportunity to study Vala. She held one of the wall handles in a white-knuckled grip, and her complexion was far paler than usual, but other than that, she looked perfectly composed. She even held one foot on top of the med kit on the floor, to keep it from flying across the room as the plane rocked.

"And, we're back to the twilight zone," he muttered. "Weren't you just having a meltdown?"

"That was before our ship was crashing." She took advantage of a moment of smoother flying to pick up the med kit and start toward the pilot's cabin. "This is one of those cases where I can compartmentalize!"

Cam gripped her upper arm, both stabilizing her as she stumbled and making sure she met his eyes. "Good. Then let me take advantage of this _incredibly _ironically timed moment of sanity to say that –"

"It can really wait until we stop crashing!" She tried to pull her arm out of his grasp, but he held tight.

"Yeah, it really can't." He faced her head-on, and noticed with some satisfaction that the surprise at his insistence had broken through her mask of urgent efficiency. "You're wrong. No one's taking you off my team. So don't do anything, _please_, until we talk about this."

He would have said more, but Vala was right about the urgency of their situation, so he gave her one last look that he hoped was supportive, and let go.

The co-pilot turned his head when they entered the cockpit, a look of panic etched across his face. "There was some sort of electrical surge, then we lost power. Half the instruments are out, the manual meters are uncalibrated and the back-up generator's not kicking in!" He followed Mitchell's gaze toward the pilot's seat, where the first pilot was slumped over. "He took a nasty shock when the board short-circuited. He's alive, but I couldn't do much for him." The plane lurched again, and the co-pilot hit furiously at a few of the keys on the instrment board, then pulled on the control wheel. "I don' t know if the mechanical altitude and pressure indicators are accurate, and navigation control's out too. But I can tell we're losing altitude, and we're flying blind."

Mitchell opened the med kit and tried to attend to the unconscious pilot. "Do we know what the heck caused this? Did something hit us?"

The man shook his head. "Nothing showed up on our sensors until the sudden power surge."

"Radio?"

Another head shake.

"They got my emergency call, but then there was some sort of interference and I lost reception." The co-pilot pushed slightly out of his seat. "If you can take command for a few minutes, Colonel, I need to get the back-up generator running, or we might lose the engines next."

With a grim nod, Cam put down the med kit. "I'll try my hand at it –" The plane tilted dangerously fast, and the co-pilot had to react quickly to pull it back into a relatively straight course. The alarms were much louder inside the small cabin, and there was a faint wisp of smoke rising from one side of the circuit board.

"Course is close to disintegrating completely. Course deviation and RM indicators are out." Mitchell slipped into the seat that the other man had just vacated. "We can't hold a stable flight pattern with zero sensor input. Can you calibrate the manual readers at least, and restore some of the basic functions?"

The other man looked conflicted. "No time to do both that and the generator. If the engines go, we're toast."

"If we fall into a spiral course or slam into a mountain because we couldn't see it, we're not gonna do much better."

They exchanged a tense look, pondering which of the basic needs was more urgent, until Vala interrupted the silent communication.

"You fix the sensors," she pointed to the co-pilot, then turned to Mitchell, "_you_ fly the plane. I'll fix the generator."

"You're not a trained mechanic," the co-pilot immediately protested.

She arched her eyebrows as she spotted the toolkit in the space between their chairs, and leaned over to retrieve it. "No, but I _am_ trained at keeping my ships from crashing…much."

The man looked unconvinced. "If you damage it, you could cause a feedback strike that would kill the engines! And if you're not careful, an electric shock could kill you, or you could cause an explosion, or…"

"Just fix the instruments," she waved a dismissive hand. "I'm pretty sure I can handle a little power generator."

Mitchell handed her one of the two short-range radios that were part of the back-up equipment. "Stay in contact," he told her, his meaningful look adding a different second layer to the request.

* * *

Sam passed a hand through her hair as she pondered Dr. Layton's story. "This makes more sense. The Asgard core malfunction didn't spill over into the local grid, it made its way back into the _Odyssey_ system, where it began to cause a cascade failure. The question is _why_."

The younger scientist nodded. "There must have been a flaw in the algorithm design or implementation that caused the core power supply to fail, but I haven't been able to find it yet."

"Maybe…" She once again flipped through the pages outlining his work, then pulled a schematic of the Asgard core on the screen of the one computer in her lab that was still on. "There's also the issue of how it spread away from the _Odyssey_. What was the exact order of events?" she asked the two men. "Which systems went offline first?"

"There's an incident report somewhere in there," Dr. Thompson waved to the stack of files they had brought over, "although of course we were all taken by surprise. _That_ is why we work in teams, Dr. Layton, not going off on our own pet projects," he chided sarcastically.

"It wasn't even a project," Cas Layton sighed, "I thought the worse that could happen was that it wouldn't work and I'd have to rewrite the algorithm. _If_ it had worked, I was going to compile the results and present them in our next meeting, to see if we can make the Asgard core a viable back-up option in the event of unexpected power outages in vital systems…"

"Like I said, you should have brought the idea to me. That's why I'm chief science coordinator. We wouldn't be here if you had followed proper procedure."

Sam took pity on the younger man and changed the subject.

"It looks like the power outage originated with the core, then spread in a very precise pattern to other systems. I'd like to match this incident report with my simulations of the Asgard mainframe, and see if we can pinpoint the exact moment when the failure initiated." She gave Dr. Layton a quick glance before continuing: "Actually, this might take a few minutes, our back-up generator isn't at full power and computing resources are limited. Dr. Lee, maybe Dr. Thompson would like to see some of our other facilities here or grab a quick coffee."

Bill Lee looked like he wanted to protest being sent away, but a meaningful look from Sam shut him up. His shoulders slumped in a resign sigh, and he gave her a look that very clearly said, 'you owe me'.

"Sorry Dr. Layton, but your coffee will have to wait," she continued. "I'll need you to walk me through this in more detail..."

The dark-haired doctor waited until his supervisor was out of sight, before risking a cautious glance at her. Sam smiled complicitly, and he laughed.

"_Thank_ you," he mouthed.

She laughed too. "Don't mention it. I know how you feel, I broke my fair share of important toys in my time here, too."

"Oh, I _heard_!" At her arched eyebrows, his ears reddened again. "Uh, I mean – that's not what – I meant that – I heard about all the things you did – the _good_ ones." He cleared his throat and sighed. "Sorry about that. You have a great reputation, Dr. Carter."

"Hope you don't believe everything you hear," she joked.

"Someone does, or they wouldn't have offered you the science team coordinator job." He paused at her surprised look, and shifted a little uncomfortably. "Uh, sorry I didn't mean to... it's common knowledge among the science team that you got the offer. All of us were really disappointed that you didn't take it!" he hurried to add, then cleared his throat. "Not that Dr. Thompson isn't a brilliant scientist. But everyone just really wanted you."

Sam smiled and turned her eyes back to the page she was reading. "Well, after that little adventure we had with the _Odyssey_ last month, I'm pretty sure a lot of people would be very happy if I never went near the ship again." Probably including the ship's current commander, Col. Ian Davidson, who had had to put up with quite the backlash after supporting her plan to go after Cam and Daniel into hostile Lucian territory.

As she thought back to that mission, Sam felt a glimmer of recognition and looked up at the dark-haired man again. "You were on the ship, too," she remembered, and she felt a little bad for not catching it earlier.

Dr. Layton nodded. "I was on the small tech team that was required to go along for the mission."

"Sorry…I knew you looked familiar, but…"

He waved a hand, totally unoffended. "Oh we only met one time, and briefly, and there were a few other people there..."

But now that she thought about it, her memory became sharper. "That's right, it was when the holographic interface reverted to the language of the Asgard. We had to call Daniel to fix it…" she smiled at the silly incident, then tilted her head to give him a closer look. "Wait, you were the one who…"

Dr. Layton lowered his face in his palms and groaned.

"…accidentally triggered the language setting," Sam finished, and could not help a small grin at the sight of his obvious embarrassment.

"I was hoping you wouldn't remember that," he said from behind his hands.

"It was an honest mistake," she admitted, "it could have happened to anyone."

His shoulders slumped, and he gave her a dejected look. "Between that and this, I think we can see where _my_ reputation is going."

Sam gave him a encouraging smile. "Not if we fix this," she assured him, then, adopting a more serious expression, she turned her focus to the incident report. "Based on the timeline we have so far," she scanned the first page of the report, "an unknown failure occurred in the Asgard core four-point-eight seconds after you initialized the power grid switch algorithm. It shut down the core completely, then proceeded to cut power to the weapons, database access points, navigation, electric and sensor systems within…seventy-two seconds."

Cas Layton nodded in silent confirmation, and she continued:

"The power here went out about eighteen minutes after the initial event on the _Odyssey_...I'm running a simulation now to see if we can pinpoint what caused the original failure, and why it spread outside the ship."

"Dr. Carter, I honestly have no idea what happened." The man shook his head. "I activated the core, set up the power grid switch algorithm, and the next second, the core was going offline, the lights went out, energy levels dipped…we were down to basic functions within a couple of minutes." He could not hide his distress. "The core wasn't even connected to half the systems we lost, I'm not sure _how_ or _why_ they went offline!"

Sam was not as surprised, however. "That's one of the particularities of Asgard technology," she explained. "All their systems are highly interconnected. They're capable of operating separately, but they're all part of a large fluid network that maintains continuous links with all its components. Every new function, every addition to the system, immediately gets incorporated and automatically linked up to the rest of the systems."

The younger man took a moment to consider that, then nodded slowly. "That's why a failure in one central system can propagate so quickly..."

Sam motioned to the screen, where a set of blinking points expanded from one location to another in a pattern that mirrored the incident report. Her expression turned grim as a new realization dawned on her.

"I upgraded some of the power systems at the SGC a few months ago, using Asgard technology to make them more efficient. I thought I'd disconnected the link to the _Odyssey_ systems, but it must have run at an even more basic level than I thought."

Dr. Layton watched the motion of the blinking dots on the screen. "_That's_ why your base is experiencing problems… the malfunction from the Asgard core must have propagated through to the upgrades here."

They exchanged a suddenly worried glance.

"There are other places where we've incorporated Asgard technology," the man said in an alarmed tone. "Some transportation and security features in DC and Area 51, shielding technologies, some of our other ships have some basic new upgrades…"

Sam's lips pressed together in an expression of concern. This was even worse than she had originally thought.

"If we don't find a way to reverse the process and stop the malfunction from circulating through the link, all the systems that incorporate _any_ Asgard technology are in danger of failing."

* * *

"Trajectory's decaying!" Mitchell gripped the yoke tightly, trying to hold onto what little control he still had of the airplane. "We're about to go into a dive and I don't know that I'll be able to pull her up," he warned the co-pilot. "I'd say we're barely a couple thousand feet high by now…" They had broken through the clouds and could clearly see the ground not too far below.

"Twenty-nine thirty," the other man read off the manual altitude gage. "Pressure readings normal. I've got some of the other readers calibrated, but I still can't get the manual override for the primary hydraulic system!"

"If you can figure it out in a couple of minutes, that'd work," the colonel murmured as he glanced at the few manual readings that were now available. "We're no carrier, but we're still too big to glide into a nice belly landing. We need the landing gear if we're gonna set her down."

"I can't get them from here, I'd have to – Colonel!" As the tip of the plane began to angle dangerously toward the ground, the co-pilot pushed the pilot's seat out of the way and tried to reach for the other control wheel.

"Can't pull her up!" Sweat rolled down Cam's temples, and he had to blink to clear it out of his eyes. "Engines are stalling!"

"Twenty-six hundred feet!"

"Damn it!" Giving up on the manual readers altogether, Cam looked out and tried to aim the plane for the centre of a large corn field. If they were going down, at least they could minimize the damage. Although he wasn't planning on going down at all. "We need more engine thrust to compensate!"

"I can't give it any more! We have to angle for landing!"

"Control the roll axis, we're slanting almost ninety degrees! I'll handle the pitch and yaw!"

"Manual spin control is still out, I can't keep her from banking!"

The ground hurtled toward them at alarming speed, tilting as the plane rolled unsteadily about its central axis.

"Twenty-one hundred!" the co-pilot cried.

"Let's aim for that big deserted field." Mitchell's terse remark came through gritted teeth. "Try a sharp turn to offset spin."

Their seatbelts cut into their flesh as the plane continued to veer off course, speeding toward the ground. More alarm sounds rang out as the now-functioning sensors registered the dive.

"Eighteen hundred feet!" The co-pilot's voice was hoarse. "Seventeen…"

And suddenly the instrument board lit up. Most of the LEDs flickered right out, but a few stayed on.

"Back-up generator's online!" The man immediately tapped a few switches, then pulled with renewed energy on the yoke "Diverting power to navigation controls! Engaging automatic spin compensation!"

There was another forceful lurch, but this time the plane tilted back to a more normal position.

"Pull up, we gotta even her out!" The tip levelled slowly, as the plane regained a more stable trajectory.

"Fourteen hundred feet!" the co-pilot warned. "We can't pull out of this in time! Reversing acceleration vector!" He pulled on some loose wiring beneath the console, then hit a large button on the board. "Hydraulic override's back on, too!"

"Yes!" Mitchell flicked a switch to his left. "Landing gear's responding, lowering now."

"We need to adjust our pitch axis another twelve degrees, and we're still coming down too fast!" They exchanged an anxious look. "If I engage emergency reverse thrust, we won't be able to straighten out in time."

"Don't do it, we need to be flatter than this or we'll snap in half on impact." Cam swallowed hard. "Let's angle her against the wind, that should slow us down a little more."

The man nodded. "Eight hundred feet! Six degrees off the optimal angle!"

"I don't think there's an optimal angle for this." Cam grabbed the short-range radio. "Vala, get away from that generator and brace for impact." He pulled sharply on the control wheel, then frowned as he got no response. "Vala! Can you hear me? It's gonna be a hard landing, find a safe spot! Damn it," he muttered as he still got no response.

"Five hundred," the co-pilot updated, then tensed his shoulders. "This is it, Colonel. Whatever happens –"

"Yeah." Mitchell returned the grave nod. Then he hit the plane-wide intercom button. "Vala, if you can hear me, brace for impact _now_."

"We're at optimal landing angle, but we're still coming in too fast..." The man pressed two last buttons, then held on to the yoke, as the plane raced the last few hundred feet, before touching the ground with an ear-splitting metallic shriek and a shower of sparks.

* * *

**Credits on this episode go to Myosotis for co-writing it, domina tempore for brainstorming key plot points with us, and Tel nok shock and SC for beta-ing and editing and research (and offering to do my dreaded household chores so I can hurry up and finish writing it! :-D next time i will take advantage.) As always, you ladies are the best co-conspirators. **


	23. Blackout, pt 3

**Blackout, pt. 3**

The smell of fresh warm coffee reached Sam even before the welcome sight of a familiar porcelain mug appeared next to her keyboard. She looked up gratefully to see Daniel standing by her work desk.

"Any luck?"

She shook her head. "We can isolate the Asgard upgrades in our power grid, but they're too well merged with our own infrastructure to deactivate them without bringing the whole system down."

He grimaced sympathetically. "According to Walter, we've been hearing much of the same from Homeworld, DC and Area 51…"

"I'm not surprised," she admitted, "we put a lot of work into integrating the upgrades as well and as smoothly as possible…" Sam sighed and gave the archaeologist a wry look. "Didn't exactly take into account that we'd want to undo them just a few months down the line."

"You couldn't have anticipated all of this." Cas Layton looked up from the schematic he was poring over at the other end of the workbench.

Sam took a sip of her coffee. "The weird thing is, when I first installed the upgrades here on base, I actually _checked_ for any active link between our mainframe and the _Odyssey_ parent systems. I _knew_ the Asgard systems were designed to automatically communicate with each other even long distances, and wanted to make sure we don't accidentally cause any unobserved data transmissions from the SGC." She met Daniel's eyes again. "But my scans found nothing back then! The link must have gone online later, somehow. I just can't figure out how, or _why_." Her frustration was evident.

"At least now that you deactivated the link again," Dr. Layton put in, "the malfunction won't spread anywhere else."

The blonde colonel sighed, not looking overly comforted. "It's still had hours to find its way into most of the Asgard upgrades we installed, here and at all the other facilities."

"I still don't understand how the interconnectedness of the Asgard technology caused all this," said Daniel. "I mean, isn't it a _good_ thing to have fluid systems that communicate with each other?"

"Normally, yes," Sam agreed. "For years we've been trying to make our own technology more interconnected, to sync up all these different sources of information and allow a system to self-update any number of its components based on data received by an individual component. But the flipside is that if one component fails, the failure can propagate back through the whole system."

"Domino effect..." The archaeologist frowned. "It feels like the Asgard would've seen that major flaw in their design."

"It wouldn't have been a problem for them if they decided on a case by case basis whether a new system should continuously sync to all the others," Dr. Layton suggested. "And they could deactivate the link anytime, just like Dr. Carter did now."

"Right. So…now that our upgraded systems aren't connected to the _Odyssey_ anymore…?"

Sam nodded. "That should prevent an external malfunction from back-propagating into the SGC grid again. But it doesn't undo the damage already done… and it doesn't tell us why the Asgard core malfunctioned in the first place." She gave Daniel a hopeful look. "I don't suppose Teal'c had any hints?"

But he shook his head. "He told the General that they…or we…uhm, the…_other_…us…never had this problem on the _Odyssey_."

Sam was back to studying the data on the screen, and she took another sip of coffee. "It just doesn't make any sense that the link would just come online on its own… something must've triggered it… "

Suddenly, the normal lights flickered on briefly, then off again, and emergency lighting kicked back in.

Daniel looked up with raised eyebrows. "At least they're making some progress fixing the power."

"Did SG-6 and 15 make it back yet?" Sam asked.

"They hadn't when I last checked. SG-6 is an hour overdue, and of course we can't tell if it's because they're having trouble dialling our gate, or…" He didn't finish. He didn't need to. They had gone through enough missions to know just how many reasons there were to miss a scheduled return.

Sam bit her lips. "And we can't dial out without risking to overload the generators. Damn it…" Sam frowned. "We need an alternative energy source strong enough to keep the gate running…" She trailed off, and looked at the _Odyssey_ scientist. "Dr. Layton, can I see your power grid switch algorithm again?"

* * *

The conference room looked decidedly odd in its half-dim state, but General Landry held the briefing as though nothing had changed, even though he had to squint a little to read Colonel Carter's proposed solution.

"You want to use the Asgard core to remotely power the stargate?"

Sam was not unprepared for the incredulity in his tone.

"Dr. Layton already wrote a function that would patch the core into a small external power grid," she explained. "It only took a few adjustments, and now we can try to remotely link it to our stargate long enough to power a two-way trip and retrieve SG-6."

Seated between Dr. Layton and Teal'c, Dr. Lee held up a hand. "Uh, except that attempting a power supply swap is what caused the blackouts in the first place. I don't know if using it on our own grid is really the best idea…" he trailed off toward the end of the sentence, as was his habit.

"I checked the algorithm line by line," Sam assured him, "there's nothing wrong with it."

"Then what caused the original malfunction on the _Odyssey_?" asked Landry, and she grimaced.

"I don't know yet… but there's nothing in Dr. Layton's code that would explain it. I rewrote the whole thing from scratch and compared the two versions just to make sure we weren't overlooking anything… Sir, the algorithm is correct as far as I can tell." She met his eyes with an honest look. "I think there's a good chance it will work."

General Landry turned a questioning glance on Dr. Layton, who looked a little surprised himself at having his work be offered up as a solution.

"Uh, well," he shrugged a little unsurely, "I did originally intend to test whether the Asgard core can be used as a short-term back-up power supply in case of a blackout in a vital area…guess this qualifies..."

Landry looked back to Sam. "What do you need to make it happen, Colonel?"

"Just a couple of adjustments to our electric grid, to make sure there's a channel that can redirect energy from the Asgard core into the gate. And some help dialling the gate manually, I think that would be safer if we use a remote power supply."

The General took one last look around the table to make sure no one else had any comments, then nodded. "Alright. I'll contact DC and get the President's permission to access the Asgard core from here. Can you be ready in twenty minutes?"

She confirmed with a silent nod of her own.

"I'll re-test the algorithm one last time, to make sure," Dr. Layton added.

"I will assist with the manual dial," Teal'c offered.

Landry pushed his chair back. "Good. Let's get SG-6 home."

* * *

Landry watched his people at work through the large glass pane that overlooked the gate room. Teal'c, Siler and a third airman were manually rotating the massive naquadah dial, while another man stood by with a clipboard making notes and calling out to them when they had reached the correct position each time. Another couple of technicians were checking the thick cables that they had connected to the stargate, and Dr. Bill Lee was helping them.

"Algorithm ready to go online, Sir." Colonel Carter sat at one of the computers in the control room, inputting the last of the necessary commands.

In the seat next to her, Walter had an open line with the _Odyssey_ science team. "_Odyssey_ reports standing by."

"All but one of our back-up generators are disconnected from the stargate, so even if this doesn't work, it shouldn't cause further power outages on base."

As the microphone was on, Sam's words carried to the gate room. Dr. Lee looked up at her with a resigned sigh.

"Unless by 'doesn't work' you mean 'blows up and causes a naquadah chain reaction that levels this entire mountain'…" he muttered.

Teal'c paused the manual dialling and turned to the short, balding doctor. "If that is the case, we should indeed expect further outages," he agreed pleasantly.

Dr. Lee groaned.

"Chevron six is in place," Walter announced in the control room.

Sam looked to General Landry, who nodded. "Switching stargate to remote power supply… now."

As she typed in the necessary commands, there was a sudden surge of energy. Several plots on the screen spiked past the available range, and sparks erupted from the cables connected to the stargate, showering the room.

"Back-up generator overloading!" cried Walter.

The glass pane protected them from the actual sparks, but even so they had to avert their eyes from the sudden brightness. Down by the stargate, Teal'c and Siler tried to take cover as well as they could, while giving the gate dial one last nudge in the right direction.

Dr. Lee yelped as one of the generator connections shocked him, then proceeded to melt down. "This isn't working, we have to abandon the remote connection!"

"No, wait for it!" Sam called back through the microphone.

"Sensors indicate overheating in the gate room!" Walter warned, and Landry gave Sam an urgent look.

"We're getting too much power from the core," she was already typing furiously at the keyboard. "I'm fine tuning the voltage specifications."

Through the glass they saw the gate had stopped dialling, and the last chevron was lighting up. Teal'c and Siler jumped sideways off the ramp.

"_Odyssey_ reports fluctuations in the core readings!" said Walter.

The algorithm should adapt on its own…" Sam looked at the stargate with an expression of both alarm and hope, as the vortex finally sprang to life amid a renewed shower of sparks. Smoke began to rise from the electric panels in the corner.

"Still overheating!" called Walter. "Energy levels critical!"

Sam resumed her urgent typing. "Modulating current intensity and flow!"

The wormhole fluctuated for a millisecond, came back, then there was a loud bang.

"Colonel –" Landry warned.

But the blue light of the vortex continued to glow downstairs in the gate room, despite the smoke and sparks that rose from all around the stargate. Sam checked the readings and let out a long breath.

"Wormhole's stable." She typed in another command before turning to General Landry. "I think we're ready to send a probe through and make contact with SG-6."

"Do it," he nodded, looking as relieved as the rest of them.

As the probe rolled up the ramp, a phone went off in the control room, and Landry moved to pick it up. Dr. Cas Layton took his place by Sam's chair, looking at her with undisguised admiration.

"That was…remarkable," he said, sounding almost surprised as the discovery. "You adjusted the algorithm to account for the current intensity and voltage fluctuations in real time. And you didn't even have access to the direct Asgard core readings."

She sighed. "It's just… practice. We're lucky that it worked." The adrenaline was wearing off and as usual she felt a mixture of surprise and satisfaction at the success of the plan. Then with a click of the mouse she brought up a script on one of the nearby screens, and met Dr. Layton's gaze. "This proves that it wasn't a bug in your code that caused the original malfunction on the _Odyssey_."

He cleared his throat. "Uh, I know that means we still don't have an answer, but I'm not unhappy to hear that."

"I think the President might not feel the same way," Daniel spoke softly from behind Walter's chair. "He's been calling for answers for hours." He nodded to Landry, who was still on the phone looking none too happy. In fact, he looked downright grim.

"We've got contact with SG-6," Walter said, and a grainy video appeared on one of the smaller screens. "Col. Barnes, it's good to see you, Sir."

While Walter filled SG-6 in on the blackout situation, the lights flickered on and off again.

"_And_…there's a nice reminder that we still have all our other problems," Daniel said dryly, aware that tapping into the core to power the stargate was a temporary solution at best. "If not a flaw in the commands, what _did_ cause the power systems on the _Odyssey_ to shut down? And why did it activate a link to all the other upgraded systems?"

No one had any answers, and for a few moments they all remained in silence, until the wormhole turned off and Walter looked up from the screen he had used to communicate with SG-6.

"Col. Barnes reports that everything's in order. They're going to dial the Alpha site. We'll contact them when we've got everything running again here."

Everyone looked at General Landry, who was still standing by the far wall holding the phone, his expression even grimmer than before. "Yes. I understand, Mr. President." His eyes fixed the people in the control room with a long, preoccupied look. "Please…keep me updated." He slowly replaced the receiver on the hook, but did not immediately walk back over to them.

Walter, Sam, Daniel and the _Odyssey_ scientist watched him in slightly confused silence.

"Remote power connection fluctuating," Dr. Layton pointed out after a few seconds, his voice a little unsure. "You should really dial out again soon if you want to get in touch with your second offworld team, too."

Walter cleared his throat. "Standing by to dial out on your orders, Sir," he said softly, instinctively knowing that something was not right.

The General nodded, and slowly walked back to the front of the room. Sam followed him with an anxious look, and the knot in her stomach intensified when his eyes involuntarily searched out Teal'c in the gate room. Feeling the other man's gaze, Teal'c looked up, and he frowned at the expression on General Landry's face.

"Sir…?" Sam waited for Landry to look at her, and met his eyes with an uneasy gaze.

"Let's finish this, Colonel," he commanded in a low tone. "Walter, tell them to start dialling again."

The Chief Master Sergeant turned and waved the go signal to the men below, but Sam still did not take her eyes off the General. Landry could see the wheels turning in her head, and he knew that no matter how much he wanted to finish the current task first, it would not be possible to hold off the news.

"Colonel…" he warned, but she shook her head slightly, obviously trying to remember, to put the pieces together.

"What's going on?" Daniel frowned, looking from Landry to Sam, his voice carefully calm even as he, too, began to suspect that something was amiss.

Downstairs in the gate room, Teal'c had not looked away from the General's face.

Landry looked at the three of them in turn, and sighed. There was no point to keep them hanging. There was no good way to say it.

"The plane that Colonel Mitchell and Ms. Mal Doran were in… it was one of the newest models using upgraded technology." He looked straight ahead, not sure which one of them he would rather face when he delivered the news. "The control tower lost contact with them about half an hour ago. It's suspected they went down somewhere over Illinois."

* * *

Sam sat at her desk, forehead in her hands, reading over a sheet of equations that she did not really see. Her head hurt, probably from the effort of managing the blackout crisis and the personal crisis they were going through at the same time. She forced herself to focus on the work because she knew it was the only way to help, but try as she might she could not block out the thoughts, and that in turn was making her even angrier… She put a hand flat against the desk and gritted her teeth as she _willed_ her brain to see the solution, to _fix_ everything already.

There was dead silence in her lab, even though there were five other people there, and the room wasn't that big.

She heard a soft click as Daniel hung up the phone on the wall; when he turned around, he looked as frustrated as she felt. "He's not picking up," he said in a low voice, and there was no need to ask who he was calling. Sam would have called herself, but she knew there was no point. "He _always_ picks up, and the _one_ time…"

"He's probably already out there, Daniel." Along with half of Homeworld Security… unless they had other things to worry about. Some of their own technologies had been upgraded. They had suffered a blackout too. What if there _wasn't_ anyone out there looking?

Daniel shook his head. "Sam, I know you need to stay here and figure this out, but Teal'c and I…"

He trailed off, unsure of how to finish, but even so Teal'c met his eyes and nodded in perfect agreement. But the SGC was hours away by car from the last known location of Cam and Vala's plane. There was nothing they could do. All the ships capable of finding the plane in a moment were grounded, because most of them included upgrades and no one wanted any more incidents.

They knew all that, but it didn't make it any easier to sit there waiting.

Sam bit her lips and looked back at the equations. She could feel Dr. Layton's eyes on her, too. He'd been studying her with some sort of star-struck curiosity, and Sam hadn't minded it earlier but now she was finding it annoying. She knew it wasn't his fault though, so she tried to look less irritated and more business-like when she turned to him and asked:

"Did the latest simulations finish running?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes. We ran them on both the SGC mainframe and the _Odyssey_ computers. Still didn't reproduce the malfunction and the subsequent chain reaction." He looked down, his voice soft. "I'm sorry, Dr. Carter… and about…"

"Then it's not a random error, it's not normally occurring system variability, it's not a difference in computing systems and it's not related to any external factors we can think of."

She knew it was rude to interrupt but she did not want to let him finish, she did not want to talk about _that_, with _him. _And neither did Daniel or Teal'c – their tight-lipped looks as clear a message as any – because he was a complete stranger and well, they didn't do so well being open with outsiders.

Actually, Sam had never realized that until Vala had pointed it out two years before, in a little indignant and oh-so-very-characteristic speech. Their 'little stargating club'. She had not given it much thought at the time, but it was true. And now they were closing ranks again. And Cas Layton and his honest sympathies didn't have a place within those ranks.

"I'm sorry Dr. Layton, but it _is_ something about the test you ran on the Asgard core that caused this," she said, her voice all-business. "We've ruled out everything else."

"But his algorithm worked just now when we tried to use the core to power the gate," Dr. Lee pointed out from his seat further away, "and it worked in all the simulations."

"Yes. It did." Sam stared at one point on the wall, tuning out everything else. The answer was there. The answer was always there. All she had to do was see it. "So if it's not the program itself that crashed the _Odyssey_ systems, it must be something specific about when it was run that first time."

"We've been over –"

"Everything, yes," Sam agreed. "In simulations. But simulations can't account for real life." She turned to the _Odyssey_ scientists. "I want the exact code that you ran."

"You have it," Dr. Layton said, "it's the one –"

"No," she shook her head. "Not the file you had saved on the system, or the file we used to do the power supply swap here," she explained. "We need the log of the exact version that ran once you hit the 'execute' button in the Asgard core room on the _Odyssey_."

Dr. Thompson looked sceptical. "That's an obscure data stream stored for only a few hours on the core's basic drive. It was probably overwritten by now –"

But Sam was not in the mood to argue. "The core has been offline since the malfunction first occurred," she pointed out, "so the last files recorded to the drive haven't been flushed yet. You can get in contact with the rest of your team on the _Odyssey_ and have them send over that data file."

"But we don't even know if you can copy that off the –"

Steely blue eyes met his. "Now."

Dr. Lee sat up, and gave her a quick nod when Sam looked over. "I'll set up a quick video call in my lab, it's right next door." He ushered the two _Odyssey_ scientists out to get the necessary file.

The remaining SG-1 members stayed behind, exchanging tense looks as they waited.

"Vala Mal Doran and Colonel Mitchell are both excellent pilots." Teal'c's sudden statement broke the silence after a minute or so.

Daniel remained quiet, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against Sam's workbench, but the colonel gave a slow, lopsided nod.

"They _have_ both walked away from some pretty rough landings…" she admitted.

"And the Asgard upgrades to their vessel were not as extensive as the ones here."

Sam bit her lips, and gave another half-nod. "There's… a good chance they managed to make an emergency landing…"

"Then why haven't they contacted us yet?" Daniel asked tersely.

Another brief silence followed his words.

"Perhaps they are attempting to forestall the IOA interview."

Sam chuckled against her will, and even Daniel had to smile a little.

* * *

"The temporary log file just got transferred to our database." With a few quick keystrokes, Sam brought up a series of commands and numbers that scrolled quickly on her black screen. "Pulling up the original code for comparison…"

Dr. Lee and the two _Odyssey_ scientists quietly filed back into the room only seconds before a red alert sign flashed on the screen, and a rectangle highlighted two lines of equations.

"The program found a difference in the codes!" Dr. Lee exclaimed, but Dr. Thompson brushed him off after reading the highlighted lines.

"It's just the address of the power grid that the Asgard core was supposed to tap into," he pointed out. "Of course it's different, Layton meant to do it on the local power grid, and you tested it on the SGC's –"

"No." Sam was looking at the screen with an almost frantic interest. "This is the original code Dr. Layton wrote, not the one we ran here. The power grid addresses should be the same, but…" She stared at the numbers.

"Some of the digits are flipped," Dr. Lee noticed.

Sam looked at the two different addresses, and felt the blood rushing to her face. "The original power grid coordinates had to be converted from our numeric system to the Asgard's… if there's an error in the conversion function, the system could be trying to access totally different coordinates…"

She pulled up another script, and they studied it intensely for a few seconds. Sam closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

Next to her, Dr. Lee was shaking his head as he, too, had seen the error. "That's why we hadn't caught this, because the conversion function doesn't run until after the system begins to execute the algorithm."

Dr. Thompson looked equally impressed. "Dr. Carter… that's…"

"Brilliant." Dr. Layton was staring at her openly now, his curiosity and fascination plain.

"No." There was still a piece missing. "This shouldn't have had to make a difference. At the most, it would have temporarily linked the Asgard core into another power grid, or returned an error message..." She typed a few commands on the keyboard. "I should be able to extrapolate what power supply the wrong coordinates referenced…"

A map of the area surrounding the _Odyssey_ hangar came up, and a few blinking points lit up on it. Then the map zoomed out to cover a wider area, and more points flashed to life, and the map zoomed out even more, with more and more blinking dots springing up, until a very familiar shape stood on the screen, its entire surface covered in yellow flashing dots.

Dr. Lee's jaw dropped. "That's – no way. That's impossible. That's not even - there's no _physical_ way...!"

Dr. Layton was gripping the edges of the table as he looked over Sam's shoulder at the screen.

"There has to be some mistake," Dr. Lee gaped.

"There's no mistake." Sam looked at them, her expression certain. "The Asgard core interpreted the mis-translated coordinates as a command to temporarily power the entire grid of the United States."

Dr. Layton simply looked back at her, eyes wide in wonder.

* * *

"Are you saying that the Asgard core replaced _all_ the power supplies across the whole country?" Daniel sounded doubtful. "Is that even possible?"

"Not without massive restructuring work to our current infrastructure!" Dr. Lee replied. "I mean sure, the Asgard have far more advanced wireless power transmission capabilities but... the energy expenditure alone would be formidable!"

"Is that what caused the malfunction?" Teal'c asked. "Perhaps the core was not sufficiently powerful to take on such energy demands."

Dr. Thompson bristled. "The core is –"

"No, it can generate enough power," Sam interrupted. "That shouldn't have crashed it. It shouldn't even have made a _dent_, especially not for a two-minute test!" She frowned again. They had found an error. An unbelievable, one-in-a-billion-chance, easy to miss error. That _had_ to be it.

But the answer was still just out of their grasp.

"If the absurd power demands didn't cause the malfunction in the core," Dr. Lee sounded exasperated, "then what?"

Sam closed her eyes. She thought back to everything she knew about the Asgard, everything she had seen on the _Odyssey_, everything she had discussed with Thor whenever they worked together. And even further than that, every time she had been on a ship, every chat she had had about alien ships, and malfunctions, and then…

…the answer was right there.

"Security," she whispered.

Dr. Thompson started uncomprehendingly.

"What…?"

"Dr. Lee's right. The energy demand _was_ absurd... so absurd, it could not have occurred except in the case of an error or misuse, as was the case here." It was all so clear now that it seemed unbelievable that she hadn't seen it before. "We were looking at this wrong all along. The core didn't malfunction _or_ crash, and the chain reaction to all the other systems wasn't a cascade failure like we thought." Sam shook her head. "It was an emergency security shutdown."

* * *

**I know, most of you probably want to kill us (rather, me) right now for not resolving last chapter's cliffhanger. Please rest assured that all the details in this chapter are relevant to our plans for this season ;-). And the cliffhanger resolution is coming in the next chapter, which I will post ASAP. So...put away those pitchforks and torches, please?:)**


	24. Blackout, pt 4

**Blackout, pt 4**

"Ugh." Mitchell disentangled himself from the seatbelt, nearly falling out of the chair as he did so. His body did not seem to want to support its own weight, and he was still seeing stars. "I don't remember it feeling this awful last time I crashed."

"Anything you walk away from," the copilot rasped, his own hands fiddling with the seatbelt buckle. "That is, assuming we're not dead…"

The colonel pushed himself out of the seat and stumbled to lean heavily on the door. "Check on him," he nodded to the still-unconscious pilot. "See if you can radio for help." He hesitated for a moment, then picked up the med kit that lay discarded in a corner, before making his way back into the main cabin.

There was no sign of Vala, and she did not answer when he called. Walking as fast as he could with the blinding headache and his still wobbly limbs, he descended the small flight of stairs leading to the narrow space that served as both electrical room and as-needed cargo hold.

"Vala!" he called again, straining to see in the dimly lit room, where only some LEDs flickered on the panels that lined the walls. The light switch near the small door did not work, but a sudden flash of light appeared near the far wall. Within seconds, it was aimed directly at him. Mitchell let out a relieved sigh.

"That was a terrible landing," Vala said hoarsely, then cleared her throat. "Thanks for the warning, though."

"You're welcome." He kneeled next to her and took away the flashlight so he could aim the beam at her instead. She winced as the light hit her eyes. "Next time, it'd be nice if you acknowledge it and spare me the ulcer."

"Couldn't find the radio, it rolled off somewhere," she explained tiredly. "But I heard it. Ow…"

Mitchell had aimed the light at a discoloration on her forehead, and was frowning as he probed it tentatively with two fingers.

"Doesn't look too bad, if that's the worst of it." He strained to make out more, but between the yellow LEDs and the bright white flashlight, her colouring was off, and he couldn't tell anything from the way she was sitting up against the wall. "Did you hurt anything else?"

"Mm," she said noncommittally. "I've had worst landings." She craned her neck from one side to the other, rolled her shoulders, then straightened her back. Finally she sighed. "It's all probably still in one…slightly mashed… piece."

Not willing to only take her word for it, Cam did a quick sweep of the floor, to make sure there was no blood, then aimed the flashlight back at her face.

"So, just to be on the same page here…you're not feeling like you're gonna die or anything? No extreme pain? No internal bleeding?"

Vala gave him a doubtful look. "Not…that I can tell. Wh –_okay_…" She sounded even more confused as he got up and marched away in the direction of the door. "Just because I'm not _dying_ doesn't mean a little help and sympathy wouldn't be appreciated, Cameron," she grumbled as she stared at his retreating form. "At least you could leave me the flashlight…"

But to her surprise, once he reached the door, instead of walking out Mitchell pushed it shut. Now that his eyes were used to it, he could see her even in the dim golden light of the LEDs from the electric panels.

"What are you doing?" her voice had taken on a suspicious note.

With a sigh, he walked back over. "_Sit_." His tone was dry as he stopped her from scrambling to her feet. He set the flashlight aside and crouched down across from her, taking in her wary expression and rigid body stance. "We have a chat pending."

Her eyes were wide and her expression uncertain; she swallowed hard. "I hardly think this is the best –"

"Vala." He put his palms on his knees, and looked her straight in the eye. "I'm only gonna say this once, so you damn better listen, 'cause if we ever have a repeat of that scene from earlier, I'm gonna end up in early retirement for a variety of psychiatric reasons."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then met her gaze again. "You're on my team, not because Landry wants you on it, or because Jackson wants you on it, or because the IOA or the President or freakin' _Santa Claus_ want you on it. You're on my team for two reasons: because _I_ want you on it, and because _you_ want to _be_ on it. And the only way you're getting off the team, as far as I'm concerned, is if any of those two facts change."

When Vala opened her mouth to say something, Cam held up a finger to stop her. His eyes never leaving hers and his expression dead serious, he continued:

"I get that we don't always agree – actually, most of the time that logic train of yours doesn't really stop in my station. I don't care. I don't care that you hijacked the _Prometheus_, I don't care how many illegal cargos you've smuggled across the galaxy, I couldn't give a damn about what stolen gems, crystals, power coils or God knows _what_ else is hiding at the back of your closet –although," he amended with a tilt of his head, "this _would_ be a one-time-only offer to come clean about anything else that you may have…forgotten to mention. Yeah," he snapped his fingers as her attention obviously moved elsewhere, "just take the inventory when I'm done talking. Anyway…I knew about all of that before you got your SG1 commission, and that was a year ago, and I haven't changed my mind in the meantime. And I'm not going to."

He took another breath, and bit his lips as he pondered whether to say the next part or not. Finally, he nodded to himself, and his tone lost some of its stern, determined quality and became more personal.

"I get what being on this team means to you. _Yes_, it took me a little longer than it took Jackson, because we don't all have fifty Ph.D.s. But I know. I saw your face when you got those team badges, and trust me, it was clear to everyone in that room that you really wanted to be there. I _know_ that you're committed. What _you_ don't seem to know, is that that commitment goes both ways."

Cam felt a twinge of frustration as he saw that while Vala's gaze had warmed, there was still doubt in her expression as he spoke the last words. He breathed out and swore that by the time he was done, that doubt would be gone, or he really would go into early retirement.

"Before I got Jackson, Teal'c and Carter to sign back on, I interviewed forty-two candidates…forty-two perfectly qualified, stellar, _brilliant_, perfect-record candidates – none of which had ever hijacked a toy train, let alone a ship, by the way," he said dryly. "And I couldn't take even _one_ of them, because in my head I had this _idea _that once someone was on SG-1 and under my command, I'd keep them there no matter what, for as long as they wanted to stay. And sometimes even longer, as those three can tell you," he admitted with a slightly guilty smile.

"Now, I'd read and memorized all of SG-1's mission reports, so I had a pretty good idea of what I'd have to deal with from my team members. And none of those excellent forty-two candidates made me think, 'this is someone who'd be worth keeping even if they occasionally go against my orders, break things, blow up things, get kidnapped, brainwashed, possessed, stalked and so on'. They're not on the team, Vala." He lowered his head, still holding her gaze. "You are. And _trust me_," he added with a meaningful arch of his eyebrows, "you've got a _long_ way to go before you even come _close_ to what's in those early-days SG-1 mission reports."

Vala let her chin fall to her chest, her gaze dropping away from his. Mitchell waited silently to get her attention again. After a few seconds, she brought her knees up to her chest, and finally looked up again, and this time there was something different in her eyes.

His eyebrows rose slightly again. "Have I made it clear that you are on this team for as long as you want to be?"

She bit her lips, sighed, and gave a half-nod. The response was not to Cam's satisfaction, so he let out an exasperate groan and tapped his palms against his knees again.

"Do you know how many times the IOA, or whatever stood for the IOA back then, tried to get Teal'c expulsed from SG1?"

There was a small glint of surprise in her eyes, then she frowned.

"Seventeen," Mitchell continued without waiting for a reply. "And that's just the ones that are documented officially. Do you know how many times O'Neill allowed that to happen?"

Vala bit her lips again.

"_Zero_," he said slowly, emphasizing every letter. "So despite the little doomsday scenario you've got going in that head of yours, we team leaders do get some decision power when it comes to what's gonna to happen to the people under our command. And I may not be as brave, or as wise, or as great a leader as Jack O'Neill, but I assure you I'm just as stubborn, if not more."

He let one of his knees rest on the floor as he shifted even closer to her, reaching a hand to touch her shoulder. "I want you on my team, Vala. And if some DC hotshot disagrees, I'm just gonna go ahead and ignore them. And if they try to force the issue, I'm gonna do just what O'Neill did all those times with Teal'c, and tell them to stuff it. And stick by you, and come and get you back if I have to."

He paused for a second, swallowed, and exhaled. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he gave her a sincere look. "You're not on probation anymore, and you haven't been for a while. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear. You have as much right to be on SG1 as any of us, and I'm planning to keep you as long as you want to stay…and possibly longer," he finished with a wink, and Vala let out a muffled sound that was somewhere between a chuckle and a sob.

"Do we understand each other now?" he asked after a few seconds.

When their eyes met again, there was a certainty in her gaze that made him feel that crouching in that dim room in an awkward position that made his bruised bones hurt, and trying to find words so hard that his head felt about to explode…it had been worth it, after all.

"Thank you," Vala whispered. Then she opened her mouth again, paused, started to speak, paused again…and finally shook her head. "I don't know what else to say."

Cam patted her shoulder. "You don't need to say anything. As long as you remember what _I_ just said…or at least, y'know, the key points," he amended, "it _was_ a lot of talking."

Vala made the same attempt to speak once more, then abandoned it just as before. "Maybe we should go up," she said instead. "I think maybe I do have some internal bleeding after all."

Mitchell's slight smile vanished, replaced by an expression of alarm. "You're not serious."

"Well, it's some sort of internal…thing, for sure," she spoke in a low, thick voice, and took a hand to the base of her throat, then laughed hoarsely. "It feels very…unusual."

The man sighed, relaxing as he realized what she meant. "Yeah...come on." He sat up, cringing as his muscles protested, and held out a hand to help Vala up as well. The sound of several voices came from above. "What do you know, the cavalry's here…"

* * *

Jack looked at the two blanket-wrapped silhouettes giving the paramedics a hard time, and let out a long, relieved sigh.

"Y'know, when you called yesterday to give me a heads-up about that damn IOA interview, I was expecting a slightly different kinda drama." He listened to the person on the other end of the line, and chuckled. "Yeah, I will. Didn't drag half of Homeworld out here for nothing… You know how I love babysitting."

He began to walk toward the ambulance. The two newest SG-1 members both looked up at his approach, and they looked… well, alive, and mostly unharmed, if you didn't count the dozen wraps and band-aids, but they also looked … fishy. Jack couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the two of them, as they sat there in a comfortable silence, that was decidedly suspicious.

"How are you two holding up?"

"Pretty good, Sir, thanks." Mitchell rubbed his neck. "Happy to be in one piece."

They did look…if not happy, then at least conspicuously…relaxed.

"Ya know," Jack said dryly, "people aren't really supposed to look _that_ … Zen… after a landing that leaves their plane looking..." he nodded to the battered, still-smoking vessel a few hundred yards away, "...like that."

The two exchanged a meaningful look. Jack had seen that kind of look done a hundred times before.

He narrowed his eyes at them. "Alright, what's goin' on here?"

"Nothing, Sir." Mitchell's face was the very expression of honesty. "Just…adrenaline wearing off."

But Jack knew that 'nothing'. It was the same 'nothing' he had given General Hammond a dozen times over. The 'nothing' that got left out of mission reports and was handled in monosyllabic words and pointed looks and silent pats on the back.

"Ya sure about that?"

He noticed Mitchell sneak a glance at Vala, who was hugging the blanket tight around herself, and she returned an easy smile.

"Yes Sir."

Well, whatever the 'nothing' was this time, Mitchell seemed to have it well in hand.

"In that case," Jack reached inside his jacket pocket and held out his phone to the colonel. "Break-time's over, and you should check in with papa bear." He bit back a grin as the colonel tried to maintain a carefully neutral expression at the none-too-proper reference to Hank. Sometimes Mitchell was too easy to poke fun at.

* * *

" – in case it could help at all. Yes, Sir, will do. Alright." He ended the call and looked over at Vala. She still looked a little wary, but thankfully nowhere near the level of panic from before. "Well, there's no promotion in any of our futures, but I'm pretty sure we're still employed."

She bit her lips. "Was he _very_ angry when you mentioned the power crystal?"

"Eh, I've heard him do worse." In fact General Landry had sounded more relieved than anything, and he had very quickly caught Cam's subtle hints that there was more to the story. "Plus now that it's got a power source, that energy converter might help Carter fix the blackout, so he was pretty pleased about that."

She nodded noncommittally, and he felt a twinge of concern again. Sure, he had tried to make things clear to her, but how much of it had actually sunk in? Was she dreading another lecture from Landry when they got back to base? Did she still have doubts about her position on the team? Was it –

Vala met his eyes and gave a knowing smile. "I'm good."

"Just checkin'."

She cleared her throat. "Sorry about…" she looked down and waved a hand in the general direction of the plane, "all that. Earlier. I may have been…overreacting just a little." She gave him a small embarrassed smile.

"Don't apologize," he said seriously. "I should've made things clear to you earlier. Although, if you ever get those ideas again –"

"I'm not planning to," she put in.

He arched his eyebrows. "Vala, much as I'd like to say otherwise, you're gonna get yelled at again, at some point, by someone in a position of authority. Someone's gonna point out something you did wrong. Someone's gonna make a stupid comment or make a threat or … _some_thin'. It's the job. Now _when_ that happens, _if_ you start feeling that maybe they're right and you should be lookin' for another job, just…" He sighed. "Come find me. Preferably before you panic and… y'know…" he repeated her vague hand wave from earlier, "_that_."

Vala stayed silent for a moment, chewing on her lower lip and fiddling with the edges of the blanket. Then she met his eyes. "Okay," she promised. "But really, you don't have to worry. It was never about not being able to take the lectures or the occasional nasty comment." She smiled a little wistfully. "It's…nice to know that even though I kind of stumbled into your little business in the _worst possible way_, time and again," she closed her eyes and shook her head, but kept smiling still, "with the hijacking and the Ori and Adria...it's nice to know that _despite_ that…and now that it's all over, there's a chance that this will still all…work out." She sighed, and met his gaze again. "I know it sounds stupid, but I think I just… needed to hear that."

Cam nodded. He didn't think it sounded stupid at all. The only thing that bothered him was that no one had thought to tell her that earlier. Especially since the thing she doubted the most had been obvious to the rest of them for a long time…

"Alright kids, ready for the next, and hopefully less exciting, part of this road trip?"

General O'Neill's voice interrupted him before he got to say anything more to Vala. For a moment, he considered asking the older man for another couple of minutes, but then the longer they waited, well, the longer the day would get, and it felt endless already. Plus from the way she shook the blanket from her shoulders and nodded eagerly, Vala looked just as ready to get on with things.

"Guess we are, Sir." He gave her a sideways glance, and lowered his voice as they followed Jack."Are you sure about this? Heck, if ever there was a good excuse to get out of an IOA hearing, _this_," he pointed to the badly damaged plane, "is it."

She thought for a moment, then looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Are we sure I'm not getting blamed for this one?"

Cam snorted loudly before he could help it. "No, pretty sure this one's on whoever was messing with those Asgard systems."

"Well in that case… let's go tell the IOA that I've been nothing but a model employee ever since you people signed me on!"

Mitchell gave a couple of silent, serious nods.

Vala waited a few seconds then shot him another sideways glance. "Seriously? You're going to let me get away with _that_?"

He smiled good-naturedly. Vala slapped his shoulder.

"Stop it! _Sorry_!" she cringed as her light slap made him wince. "Are you okay?"

Cam sighed. "Peachy."

* * *

"And there's our next ride." Jack pointed to the sleek black helicopter a hundred yards away.

"We'll try to keep this one in one piece, Sir," Mitchell joked.

The general gave him a wry look. "For that, we're not stopping for milkshakes."

Vala perked up at the last word, and he had to shake his head at her.

"Sorry, but if I don't deliver you on time, I don't get a tip," he quipped. "And there's a 24-hour return policy on that fancy chopper."

"Yes," she smiled innocently, "but I doubt anyone's keeping track, after all, you said this blackout business has plunged all your top facilities into complete chaos."

Jack chuckled, and Mitchell bit back a smirk of his own.

"Now, I'm not saying that we _should_ take advantage of the confusion," she continued, encouraged by their reaction, "but with everyone scrambling around looking elsewhere, no one would notice if we took a little detour at a local..." She frowned as she noticed Jack slow down, his expression suddenly grim, "...diner," she finished, then gave the older man a long look. "General O'Neill?"

"When you say 'take advantage of the confusion'," he asked slowly, "...how exactly d'ya think one could...do that?"

Vala cast a worried glance at Mitchell, but his brief nod reassured her.

"Well...assuming you're referring to something more lucrative than using government property to procure some of your delicious Tau'ri desserts..." Her eyebrows rose cautiously. "We're talking _major_ disruptions at all your most secure secret bases," she emphasized. "That kind of thing doesn't happen every day. Let's just say that a few years ago, I would have seen this blackout as a golden opportunity to do a little...under-the-radar _exploring _of some of those places."

Jack grimaced. "For the love of... _damn it._" He rolled his eyes.

"You don't think anyone would try, Sir..."

"We've got alien mercenaries, dirty politicians, snakes and Lucians in the mix, Mitchell," Jack grumbled as he pulled out his cell phone. "Of _course_ _some_one would try_. _But it just so happens that I have a wild hunch who that someone is, this time."

* * *

" – and a small error in the numeric conversion function caused Dr. Layton's algorithm to try to use the core to supply energy to _all_ power grids across the country." Carter could not blame the people in the briefing room for their flabbergasted expressions. The discovery had shocked her, too. "The unexpected power demand activated a security subroutine in the _Odyssey_ systems, which led to an emergency shutdown of all but the most basic systems."

"_Colonel, are you saying that a damn _typo_ caused an hours-long blackout in some our most secure facilities?_"

She grimaced slightly, and faced the image of the man on the screen. "Technically, it was an actual calculation error, not a typo… but essentially yes, Mr. President. It was a very small code bug that caused the Asgard core to accidentally link into the wrong power grid."

"_And how did it spread off the _Odyssey_, again?_"

"It was all part of the security protocol," she explained. "Once the huge power demands triggered the security subroutine, it re-established a link between the parent systems on the _Odyssey_ and all the upgrades we installed at other locations. Then the emergency shutdown directive propagated further down the line into our systems."

President Hayes' gaze moved to the chief _Odyssey_ scientist, who squirmed in his seat. "_Dr. Thompson, you've been looking into the ship's systems for months. How exactly did this security feature escape your notice?_"

"Uh - it was a hidden subroutine," the man stammered, "we haven't had a chance to – that is, there are a lot of functions in the Asgard technology that we're still trying to understand, and this is one of the minor patches, it's not even in the central directory…"

"_This 'minor patch' caused the power to go out in a lot of important places,_" the President deadpanned, "_not to mention my team here has had to answer a lot of awkward questions about why some of our systems suddenly went haywire. I expect no more surprises like this in the future._"

Dr. Thompson's balding forehead was beaded with nervous sweat. "Yes, Mr. President."

"_How are the repairs coming?_"

"We expect to have the SGC systems back up within the hour. Colonel Carter's working on a way to safely override the security protocols on the _Odyssey_, and once that happens we'll be ready to transmit the override command to all affected systems."

"_Good. I've had to postpone a speech in Ohio because half my team was too scared to get on board the damn plane_," the President grumbled, "_and of course the opposition won't shut up about it and you don't want to know the stories the media's already making up…_" He trailed off and frowned, as if remembering something else. "_What happened to your people? The ones on board the upgraded plane? Colonel Mitchell and… _" He sought the name for a moment, then rolled his eyes. "_…that alien of yours that's got Fisher spitting nails._"

"Safe and sound," Landry replied, then arched his eyebrows. "And making their way over to DC for Ms. Mal Doran's interview right now. Should be there any minute, actually."

President Hayes rolled his eyes again. "_I'm sure they'll excuse me if I don't have the time to sit in on that. Got an unscheduled press conference just to dispel rumours that I've contracted the bubonic plague and dropped out of the damned race._" He paused for a moment, then glared at Landry. "_So don't get any ideas_."

The General smirked, and Hayes kept the glare in place for another second before his expression, too, relaxed into an amused half-grin. Now that the moment for announcing candidacies was well past and it had become obvious that Landry had no intention of trying for a bigger chair, the tension between them had eased considerably. In the past couple of months they had even been able to joke about it.

"_Well, I'll be waiting to hear that the problem's fixed_," the President resumed. "_Colonel Carter, thank you for –_" He stopped and looked somewhere to his right, where someone was clearly interrupting with some sort of message. "_Hold on one second please,_" he told them after a moment, then met Landry's eyes as he accepted a phone offered by someone off-screen. "_Apparently General O'Neill's on the line with an urgent message._"

Landry and Sam exchanged a worried look as the video call sound was cut off while the President took Jack's call. Their eyes never left the screen for the entire duration of the muted conversation, and their concern only grew as Hayes' expression changed from surprised, to disbelieving, to downright shocked, then furious, and a few other flickers of emotion they did not have the time to identify.

Finally, the President handed the phone away and faced them again. His jaw was clenched as he passed on the news.

"_One of the IOA representatives was just caught trying to steal the command codes to the _Odyssey_._"

* * *

"So Xiaoyi Shen just walked straight into Area 51 and tried to download the control codes?" Carter met her fellow colonel's gaze across the briefing room table and mouthed: "_Wow_."

"Yeah, no kiddin'. It'd have been a pretty neat trick, too… ya know, if they hadn't caught her red-handed," Cam amended.

"I thought Jack had someone tailing her," said Daniel. "Didn't he say he'd put her under surveillance months ago?"

"He pulled back most available personnel to deal with the blackout and join the search parties for Cam and Vala," Sam offered. "She must've known she was being followed this whole time… and then when she noticed they were gone…"

"…she figured that was her chance to get her hands on those command codes," Mitchell finished her thought. "Man, those guys really need better security."

"Well, most of the electronic security _was_ down because of the blackout," Sam reasoned, "and she could have just used her IOA credentials to make it past the guards and find a computer terminal with access to the shared mainframe."

Daniel shook his head. "IOA personnel is in and out of Area 51 all the time. No one would've asked her twice what she was doing."

"None of us thought that one of the DC conspirators would try to take advantage of the chaos during the blackout to slip through the grid." Landry gave Vala an appreciative look. "No one would've thought to do a sudden security rundown mid-crisis."

Mindful of their earlier conversation, Cam braced himself to divert any comments about why exactly the security angle had occurred to Vala, but no one said anything about it.

Daniel was frowning thoughtfully. "Is there any chance that whoever Xiaoyi Shen is working for planned all this just to get the codes?"

Sam looked sceptical."I doubt it, they couldn't have known how far the power outages would spread or how long it would take to fix them. I'd say this was more of a…"

"Crime of opportunity," Teal'c provided, and Sam smiled.

"Exactly."

"Luckily for us, it wasn't a very good one." General Landry put both elbows on the table and leaned forward. "They got careless, they took a high gamble, and they lost."

Teal'c nodded. "And now we know that at least one member of the IOA is involved in the conspiracy with the Lucians."

"Yeah, and we also know that they might be after the _Odyssey_," Daniel put in. "Otherwise why would they try to steal the command codes, if not to eventually use them…?"

Landry let out a slow breath, then exchanged a serious look with Sam. "We were always aware that the _Odyssey_ might be at risk from the suspected enemies in DC. We're working on ways to ensure that, should they ever find themselves in control of the ship, they cannot use its technology against this base." He arched his eyebrows. "And of course the President, General O'Neill and Col. Davidson will make sure no one can take the ship in the first place. Security has been increased and the command codes changed…and they're no longer available on any off-ship terminals."

"Well, at least we're making it hard for them," Mitchell sighed. "Of course until we know who _they_ are, we have no idea the kind of security clearance they have…"

"Unless Shen talks," Sam pointed out. "She must know at least some other names."

"Well, just as we thought when we saw her meeting those mercenaries in the woods," Daniel replied, "she can't have a very high position within their organization if they're sending her out on errands like this. She might not actually know much."

"Either way," the General said, "now that we have her, they're one player down and we've got a potential source of information. And I imagine Ms. Shen won't be happy to take the fall for whoever sent her in to get those codes…." He paused, gave them all a serious look. "We may still not have all the answers, but I'd say that right now, we're closer than ever before to discovering who's behind the DC conspiracy, and what they're planning." He gave another brief nod, and his gaze flickered to Vala "Good."

She grinned.

* * *

Sam smiled at Vala as they slowly cleared the conference room after the General's dismissal. "So, I'm guessing the IOA interview went smoothly after you helped General O'Neill prevent a major security breach?"

The dark-haired woman shrugged. "I don't think the shrill little man likes me very much."

Three pairs of eyes turned to Mitchell for clarification, and he sighed.

"That would be the IOA liaison, Senator Fisher," he explained, then met Daniel's gaze. "Ex-chair of the Senate Appropriation Committee," he said meaningfully.

Daniel grimaced as he recalled the Appropriation Committee hearing. "Oh boy."

"He finds me lacking in a multitude of areas," Vala nonchalantly declared as they headed for the door, "including 'proper respect for laws and authority', 'the capacity to adapt to civilized social norms' … oh, and something about 'dress code'." She looked to Sam. "I don't think he's ever heard of Banana Republic, honestly. And I'm not sure he understood when I explained it..."

Cam rubbed a hand to his face, squeezing his eyes shut.

"…think he called me a banana, although I'm not entirely certain what that means…"

Daniel smiled. "Sounds like it went well."

Vala shrugged again, and Sam gave her a sympathetic look as they descended the metal stairs.

"I don't imagine they had a lot to say after the whole command codes thing."

Mitchell nodded. "Yeah, having one of their own hauled off to jail kinda took the wind outta their sails."

"We had to end it early because they went into an emergency IOA session…" Vala frowned suddenly and her voice took on a note of concern. "I hope they don't demand that I go back and do it over again."

"They won't." Landry stopped for a moment on his way to the control room. "The IOA will be busy sorting out their own internal issues, and they're in no position to be making any more demands right now, least of all of my people." His eyebrows rose as he met Vala's gaze. "You're done."

She grinned again.

"It's a little late, but I think they'll still serve us dinner if we ask nicely," Sam said as they reached the main corridor.

Mitchell opened his mouth to beg off, before noticing the way that Vala's eyes widened in excitement.

"I could eat," Daniel agreed immediately. "Pretty sure we skipped every other meal today."

Cam mentally groaned, but decided his well-deserved nap could really wait, this time. "They do have the best desserts on Mondays," he sighed.

"I believe you are mistaken, Colonel Mitchell –"

"Teal'c, no one likes Friday's peanut butter cups as much as you do."

" –nonetheless, I, too, believe that a celebratory meal is in order."

"Celebratory!" Sam grinned. "Well, I guess we should celebrate not having to deal with the IOA again for a while…"

"In that case, how about celebratory pizza…and a movie?" In for a penny, Cam figured.

Sam looked thoughtful. "We did just get that refurbished rec room on level twelve," she nodded. "I'm not sure there's a DVD library yet, though…"

"I would be honoured to provide a disc from my personal collection."

"Aw, man, no offense T but there's only that many times we can watch Star Wars."

Vala bit back a grin. "I don't know, I like that Han person."

They were at an impasse.

"We could always try streaming something else with Harrison Ford," Sam offered, and they all paused to think. "Indiana –"

"Veto!" Daniel said immediately.

"_All_ of them?"

"Yes please." Another brief silence. "How about 'The Fugitive'?"

Cam pinched the bridge of his nose. "No. Just… no."

Teal'c joined his hands behind his back."Air Force One."

Cam groaned.

**The End**

_Epilogue_

"I warned you this wouldn't work." The woman's voice echoed harshly in the small windowless room. "We should've waited until we had the ship to conduct that little experiment of yours. Now we've compromised our position and we're still no closer to getting what we want."

"On the contrary, I think we got quite a lot out of this operation." The man sitting across the metal desk appeared completely content.

She scoffed. "You're not serious. The test failed, we lost an agent and the ship is better guarded than ever."

"The test didn't fail, my dear. We wanted to know how the Asgard core will react when we require it to power our weapon... and now we know."

"Yes, we know that those damn hairless monkeys put a security protocol in place to prevent large energy demands! I hardly think that helps us."

"Security protocols can be overridden."

"You're surprisingly optimistic," she said sarcastically. "Especially given how the Asgard's sneaky little subroutines keep preventing us from getting what we want, or do I need to remind you what happened last time? Even dead, those bastards are having a laugh at our expense!" Her eyes flashed a menacing gold.

"Not for long," he assured her. "We'll get the ship when we need it, and now we know to expect more of the Asgard's little surprises on the way."

"I'm sick of surprises and setbacks," she growled. "We need the Asgard core for this plan to work, and now the damn Tau'ri are sniffing even closer to our trail! "

The man looked down at an open file on the desk. The picture of former IOA representative Shen Xiaoyi looked up at him, along with a full report on her capture.

"If she talks..." the woman warned.

"She doesn't know anything," he replied. "She doesn't know about you." His eyes flashed, and the man's lips curled into an ominous smile. "And she certainly doesn't know about me." He leaned across the desk to look her right in the eyes. "You need to stop worrying and trust me. I know how to make our way back to greatness. The pieces are falling into place just fine...and soon, we'll have all we need... and we'll get our revenge on the Tau'ri for everything they have done."

* * *

**I have to admit, I'm experiencing all sorts of catharsis right now. I've been wanting to post this chapter for... three months. Or even longer. So, yay! ****As always, h****uge thanks to the rest of the team - You guys are the best! Credits go to Myosotis for not only co-writing large parts of this, but also helping out with the scenes that I was stuck on (particularly that last one with Jack, sheesh - if she hadn't eventually taken over, this chapter would not have been posted tonight! Or ... this century.)**

**And many thanks to all of you reading and reviewing this story - as those of you who are writers know, hearing from our readers is always a highlight of our day :-). **


	25. Divided Loyalties, pt 1

**Thanks so much to all of you who responded to last episode's final chapter! We were amazed at the response it got, and thrilled that you all enjoyed it. **

**We might go into a brief hiatus after this episode - we're at well over 100,000 words on this story, and as you might imagine, it took a fair amount of time to write, edit, check, debate etc. all of it. A couple of episodes were already written when I started posting this, and we all tried really hard to stay ahead of the clock. But with five people and lots of (fun! but time-consuming) back-and-forth emailing of chapter drafts,**** the dreaded moment has come - the story caught up with us! Therefore we need another little head start. **

**So once this whole episode is posted, we'll pause for a few weeks, get a little further in writing/editing of future chapters, and some editing of past chapters and scenes. We've also got a couple of very good formatting suggestions etc., and that will all be incorporated at that time. So any ideas, thoughts, suggestions you may have, this would be a particularly good time to make them! (but also, any time is a good time, we love hearing from you.) **

**Alright enough talk. Onto the action! This episode is written in collaboration with domina tempore, whom I shamelessly nagged into doing this, and i'm not even a little bit sorry about it because it's been a blast co-writing :-D (although she may be suing me soon for carpal tunnel, sleep deprivation and assorted emotional damages!) **

**Divided Loyalties, pt. 1**

It was always disconcerting, stepping into the wormhole in the underground gate room with its plain cement walls and, three-point-two seconds later, stepping out onto a sunny plain, or in the middle of a desert, or – as Colonel Cameron Mitchell registered now – a lush, almost tropical-looking forest.

He squinted a little against the sudden burst of sunlight, before adjusting his cap and turning back to the rest of the team.

"Reminds me of Costa Rica."

"I thought you said Virgin Islands when we saw the initial images from the MALP." Sam grinned as she walked past.

"Hey man, I had a lot of fun spring breaks."

Mitchell scanned the surroundings. At first sight, there was nothing more than what they had already garnered from the probe – the air was warm, the forest seemed quiet and through the thick foliage on the ground, they could make out a small, barely-there path that led away from the gate.

"Looks pretty deserted." He took a few steps around, careful not to make too much noise, then turned to Daniel. "Are we sure this is one of the Asgard protectorates?"

The archaeologist had kneeled to study a stone formation a few feet away from the gate. "Mar'kia," he provided. "And this was the address in the Asgard database," he muttered absently, "I imagine they probably got it right…"

Vala bit back a smirk. "Maybe it was a typo."

"Yeah, I don't think gate addresses lend themselves to typos," Daniel retorted before realizing the alien woman was probably just goading him. A look up at her teasing grin confirmed his suspicion, and he rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the stones.

"I don't know, Jackson, I'm no expert but _this_," Cam nodded to the lush, deep forest around them, "doesn't look like any of the other protectorates we've seen. I was expecting, I don't know, a village, a big hammer… something. "

"The Asgard included many different planets in the treaty with the Goa'uld," Teal'c offered. "While most of them did indeed evolve similar cultures, it is not unlikely that there are exceptions."

"This one definitely looks like an exception," Mitchell agreed as he continued to study their surroundings. "And what's up with the tropical weather, anyway? Wasn't Thor supposed to be the 'god of thunder'?"

"For one, I don't think he got to pick the weather of the planets he protected, but more importantly…" Daniel had used the elbow of his jacket to clear off the moss from one of the stones, and he now stared at the markings etched on its white polished surface, "…I don't think Thor was the Asgard in charge of this particular protectorate."

Vala walked over, craning her neck to see over his crouched form. "Meaning?"

Daniel moved out of the way so they could all see the etchings on the stone. "Meaning," he replied, "_that_."

"Yeah, that doesn't look like the symbol we kept seeing on Argon," Mitchell agreed.

"That was the mark of Thor. This," the archaeologist provided, "is the mark of Loki."

Sam cringed. "Uh oh."

Vala looked from her to Daniel. "Uh oh?" she repeated. "I don't think I like it when we start missions with that."

* * *

"Okay, just because the guy's symbol is scratched on a two hundred year old _rock_, doesn't mean he has anything to do with the people on this planet," Mitchell said firmly. "Didn't the Asgard have a non-interference policy with their protectorates?"

Sam gave a lopsided nod. "They did…" she confirmed, "but Loki was a little…flexible when it came to their rules."

Cam sighed. "Point taken." He looked back out into the forest that only minutes before had looked like a tropical paradise, but now seemed just a touch more ominous. "So, do we have any reason to think we should _not_ check up on these particular people?"

"Let me remind you," Vala put one hand on her hip, "that we _finally_ got a chance to look into the whole Asgard legacy thing while the IOA is busy working out their internal affairs," she arched her eyebrows, "and we should take advantage of it while it lasts."

The two colonels exchanged a glance, and Sam nodded her agreement. "We don't know how long we'll be under their radar," she acknowledged.

"Plus, the whole cloning Jack and occasional abductions thing aside," Daniel ignored Sam and Teal'c's pointed looks, "there's really no evidence that Loki ever broke the laws of the Protected Planets Treaty. And he didn't really start his illegal experiments until the last twenty years or so…According to the Asgard database, this planet has been under their protectorate for almost a _thousand_ years."

Teal'c dipped his head. "It is improbable that Loki ever interfered with the natural evolution of the natives."

"Alright… so assuming we find any people out here in Jurassic Park, we're not expecting them to be an army of clones," Mitchell clarified. "Right?"

Sam gave a small shrug when their eyes met. "You heard Teal'c… it's improbable," she smirked.

"Actually, it _is_ a little weird that there doesn't seem to be any sign of human civilization this close to the gate." The archaeologist took a few steps further into the tree line and Teal'c automatically tensed up – a reflex, Mitchell assumed, formed after years of watching Jackson find trouble even by the most seemingly innocuous actions. "It might be that they never discovered the stargate … although, in a few hundred years, that doesn't seem likely…maybe if some natural disaster caused the centre of their society to move too far away from here…"

"_Someone_ knows about this stargate," Vala piped in from behind them.

Daniel stopped his advanced into the forest. "And you assume that, why?"

She trailed a hand over the surface of the DHD, then held it up for them to inspect. "A couple hundred years' worth of dust and mud," she explained, wiggling her dirt-stained fingertips, "but…" she trailed a finger from her other hand over a different key, then held it up to show it was almost clean, "_nothing_ on this one." Her eyebrows lifted. "Some of these keys were used to dial out recently. Therefore, _someone_ knows about the stargate." She gave Daniel a challenging look. "Happy?"

He pursed his lips and did not reply.

"Are you telling me we're dealing with an Asgard protectorate that's using gate travel?" Mitchell's attitude had turned cautious again. "I didn't think any of them did that."

"They don't normally," Daniel confirmed, looking thoughtful. "The whole point behind the treaty is that on their home planets, they're protected from the Goa'uld. So they'd have no incentive to go elsewhere."

"It does not appear that the stargate is used with any frequency," Teal'c put in. "Perhaps whoever dialled out recently was an...exception."

Cam grimaced. "There's that word again."

"Maybe someone crashed their ship here and had to make their way off the planet using the stargate," Vala suggested. then shrugged at their expressions. "What? Sometimes it's impossible to make repairs using only indigenous materials. That's no reflection on the pilot's abilities."

"Whoever they are, they're probably gone by now," Daniel reasoned. "And if some third party did visit this protectorate, that's all the more reason for us to check on them and make sure they're still… you know, protected."

Sam gave another half-nod. "That _is_ what the Asgard intended…"

"Of course, they also intended for you to use their technology while you uphold their legacy," Vala muttered. "I for one would feel considerably better if we had that large, impressive ship of yours backing us."

"I don't think the IOA is distracted enough for us to get away with _that_." Cam straightened his shoulders and nodded toward the forest. "Alright people, let's find our protected civilization and see what they've been up to these last couple hundred years."

* * *

"Whatever they've been up to, it certainly wasn't construction work."

Vala kept her voice to a low whisper as they walked past the last of the trees and into an unexpectedly large clearing that obviously housed some sort of establishment. Numerous huts, roughly identical but for their size, were strewn about, the larger ones near the centre of the clearing, a few smaller ones closer to the tree line. They all seemed to be rudimentarily built from an assortment of mud, twigs and branches and, here and there, rocks.

"Didn't you say these people have been here for a thousand years? I've heard enough of Daniel's lectures to know they should be more technologically advanced than this."

"Not necessarily," the archaeologist whispered back, "there are other examples of societies that remain at a basic hunter-gatherer level of development due to a variety of environmental factors such as isolation or harsh living conditions."

Cam carefully watched several natives who had noticed their approach and were now whispering amongst themselves and pointing fingers. "What kind of welcome are we looking at here, Jackson?"

"Uhm…" Daniel, too, was studying the attitudes of the villagers, "based on past experience, the societies protected by the Asgard have generally been friendly to outsiders, mostly because they weren't afraid of any threats… but…"

Mitchell sighed. "Let me guess…these folks might be the exception."

The team watched the villagers gather in small groups as news of their arrival presumably spread. They were still a few hundred yards away from the nearest group of people, but it was clear that they were now the centre of attention.

"Why don't we let them approach us," Daniel suggested, and they all stopped, only a short distance away from the tree line, and tried to look as friendly as possible. "Their community is actually larger than I would've expected," he remarked, studying the rudimentary structures in the clearing. "I'm estimating at least a few hundred inhabitants…"

"_Daniel_," Sam sounded surprised, "there can't be more than twenty huts, there's no way –"

"There are more over in the back," he nodded to a point at the far end of the clearing, although it was difficult to see past the huts and the opposing tree line. "I think there might be some sort of river bank there, too..."

"How can they sustain a population that size with just hunting and gathering?"

He shook his head. "I don't know… they must have some sort of larger-scale agricultural system in place."

"In the middle of the _forest_?"

"Maybe they can tell us." Daniel nodded to a group of ten or so villagers who had finally begun to approach. He took a step forward, and held up his palms in a classic gesture of non-violence. "Hello. Don't be afraid, we come as friends."

Vala's eyebrows arched as she noticed, for the first time, the faces of the incoming villagers. "They may not be big on architecture," she leaned back and whispered to Mitchell, "but they've got the body art down."

When the natives were close enough, the rest of SG-1 saw what she was referring to. The young men all wore similarly simple garb, knee-high tunics made from some sort of rough cloth. Some had feather and bead necklaces or bracelets. But their most eye-catching feature by far were the intricate thick black tattoos that ran down one or both sides of their faces, and in some cases extended down the neck. The designs looked mostly alike, although there seemed to be subtle differences.

"Some of them look larger and more complex," Sam remarked under her breath, "that could be an indication of the wearer's status…"

For his part, Daniel continued his attempt at making friendly first contact.

"We're peaceful explorers. I'm Daniel Jackson," he introduced himself, "and my friends and I would just like to talk to you, get to know you…Do you understand what I'm saying…?"

None of the young men said anything.

"Jackson?" Mitchell's hand twitched involuntarily toward the P-90 slung on his shoulder.

The archaeologist grimaced. "We _have_ met less advanced cultures before that didn't use spoken language to communicate, but from what I can see of their way of life, I don't think that's the case here…"

"_I _think someone didn't do their homework," Vala murmured. "This place is very different from what you described, Daniel."

He threw her a glare before muttering back: "In case you forgot, the very _reason_ we picked this place to check on was that there _was_ no recent information on it in the Asgard database."

"Yeah, and I'm startin' to think we should've wondered _why_." Cam gave the natives a cautious look.

On some unspoken signal, the small group of villagers split to leave a clear path, and one of them held out a hand, as though in invitation, toward the centre of the clearing.

"Looks like they want us to go with them…"

"Where, exactly?" Vala was beginning to sound impatient.

"I don't know, I guess we'll find out… probably to meet whoever's in charge."

She maintained her sceptical expression even as she followed Daniel in the direction that the young native had indicated.

"I don't like this," she informed him.

"I don't know," Daniel muttered as they walked, "I can see the benefits of exposing you to a culture where talking isn't considered a viable form of communication…"

Vala shot him a glare, but whatever she might have replied was pre-empted as a new figure emerged from the largest hut in the middle of the clearing. Clad in a simple cloth robe from neck to toes, the figure wore a large ornate wooden mask that extended above its head and covered its face entirely. It was impossible to tell from appearance alone whether it was a man or a woman behind the mask.

All of SG-1 displayed various degrees of surprise at the unexpected appearance. Daniel cleared his throat.

"Hello…" he tried again. "I'm Daniel Jackson, and –"

Then the figure spoke, and the voice was decidedly feminine:

"Have you come to return to us what you have stolen?"

The team exchanged quick glances, their surprise now mixed with concern.

"Uh, we haven't stolen anything," Daniel replied in his most convincing tone, "you see, we're explorers and –"

"You are traitors, and you are thieves," the woman behind the mask declared, her icy voice resounding across the clearing. "You will return what you have taken from us, or you will pay the price."

As one, the young men who had escorted them fell into a defensive position, pulling out short spears that they trained on the team.

Vala eyed the primitive but efficient weapons. "So, Daniel," she asked dryly, "what do you think _that_ tells us about their culture?"

* * *

SG-1 had taken up their classic defence position, backs against each other and weapons gripped tightly, but only half-raised, as they attempted to diffuse the situation. They all wanted to avoid a fight with the very people they were supposed to befriend and even protect. Plus, the armed natives were so close, the tips of their spears mere inches away, that the team could probably not shoot their way out without receiving some injuries of their own in the process.

"Whoa, there's got to be some mistake here," Mitchell held up his free hand, open palm facing the masked woman who had accused them. "We didn't steal anything. We've never even _been_ here before."

"We're explorers," Daniel added, "we came to meet you and your people, we mean you no harm."

But their words seemed to have little effect.

"Others have come, just like you," the woman said in a loud, emotionless voice. "Barely a few moon turns past. Men who pretended to be our friends and then took the gifts of the gods from us. We vowed that if you ever returned, we would make you pay for what you have stolen."

"That wasn't us," Cam insisted. "Okay? This is just one big misunderstanding. We didn't have anything to do with whoever robbed you."

"We might be able to help, if you want," Daniel offered, "maybe we can track down the thieves, get back what they stole."

The natives seemed unimpressed, still. The metal spear tips remained, unwavering, close enough to almost scrape the skins of the increasingly concerned SG-1.

"For many generations we have lived in peace and safety," the woman stated, "protected and aided by the gods. We were trusting of strangers, and we paid the price for our trust when they came and robbed us. Now, it is your turn to pay."

Cam grimaced, his hand still gripping the P-90. "Look, we get it," he said slowly, cautiously, "this is pretty bad timing, _horrible_ timing, but we're innocent, and clichéd as it may sound, we really do come in peace." He harboured his most persuasive expression, although it was offputting to have no non-verbal cues from their masked accuser. "No one wants a fight here. Like Jackson said, we'd be happy to offer our help if you want it…but first, everyone needs to put their weapons down, and we can _talk_."

The woman's voice became, if possible, even colder. "We will not be fooled again."

"We're not trying to fool you," Daniel argued, "we –"

"We're friends of the Asgard," Vala cut him off. "You know – Loki? That god of yours?" That seemed to catch their interest, so she went with it, ignoring Daniel's warning look. "Yeah, they sent us! And Loki would be _very_ unhappy if you were to treat his _friends_ badly. In fact, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't appreciate all these weapons aimed at us."

The masked woman remained still for a long moment, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking or even where she was looking. "You claim to come to us from the gods?"

"Er – in a manner of speaking, yes," Daniel hurried to reply before Vala could deceive the natives any further. "We really just wanted to meet your people and learn about you."

The woman paused for another moment. "You do not look like the gods."

"I can think of a few anatomical differences," Vala muttered, too low for the natives to hear, but not Daniel, who shot her another annoyed glare.

"It's a long story," Mitchell replied. "One that we'd be _happy_ to tell you, once we stop aiming _weapons_ at each other."

The masked woman lifted a hand, and the young men raised their spears another few inches, while SG-1 did the same with their P-90s.

"I must seek the guidance of our god Loki in this matter," she decided. "If you are truly innocent, then you shall not be held responsible for the acts of others. But neither will we misplace our trust in strangers, again," she warned. "You will await judgment."

"Uh, where we come from, the accused usually get a chance to speak for themselves before judgment is passed," Daniel mentioned, "you know, present evidence and everything…"

Vala gave him a sideways glance. "Are you sure you want to go there? Last time didn't go so well."

"You will have a chance to speak for yourselves," the masked woman declared. "But first I will pray for the advice of the gods." She waved a hand at the armed young men. "Take them away."


	26. Divided Loyalties, pt 2

**Divided Loyalties, pt. 2**

"This is why I always operated _outside_ the law before I met you people." Vala paced around the sturdy wooden cage that served as their prison. "I don't seem to remember getting locked up half as much as the rest of you 'law abiding' citizens." She made air quotes around the last few words. "It's pathetic!"

Cam's first instinct was to argue, before he realized that she wasn't totally wrong. "You know, this does happen disturbingly often," he admitted. "Maybe it's something in the water..."

"Or _maybe_," she countered, "it's the fact that the rest of you do things like simply _letting_ those natives lock us up without even a hint of protest!"

"They weren't buying our protests," Mitchell reminded her, "and we're here to get to know these people, not pick a fight with 'em and have to shoot our way out! Going along with their game seems like the best way to clear up this whole misunderstanding."

He looked to the older members of the team for support, but they weren't paying attention. Instead, they studied the roughly made cage and the intricate lock, and exchanged mysterious looks.

"At least this one smells halfway decent," Daniel commented dryly, "and there's natural lighting. Well...some."

Sam grinned. "Always a plus."

Teal'c nodded. "I believe this would qualify as at least a seven on the O'Neill'O'Meter," he said gravely.

Sam and Daniel both made various sounds of agreement – and Daniel groaned once – but Vala looked just about as in the dark as Cam was feeling. He waved a hand to get their attention. "Excuse me, the _O'Neill'O'Meter_?"

"That's two L's," Sam nodded proudly.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "That's also not what it's called. Jack just thought he was being clever."

"Do you disagree, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

Daniel sighed long-sufferingly, and Sam took pity on him. Either that, or she really didn't feel like mediating an argument about Jack's particular brand of humour. Cam could understand that.

"We ended up calling it the O'Neill Scale," she explained, "though every so often General O'Neill and Teal'c would pitch for the other name. Actually, those were some pretty interesting debriefings – "

"Not that this isn't _fascinating_," Cam interrupted, "but what exactly is this Scale'O'Meter thing?"

"And is it going to help us get out of here?" Vala put in hopefully.

Sam ignored her question. "Back in the early days of the team, we didn't exactly have the best track record for evading capture –"

"Oh, well," Vala muttered with a meaningful look at the thick wooden bars, "good thing you've all made _such_ a change since then."

"You do realize that you're locked up in this same prison with the rest of us, right?" Daniel sounded tired.

"Of course! But that is a direct result of _your_ bad influence, darling."

He glared at her from across the cage, but before he could respond Teal'c's growl startled everyone into silence. He pinned the two of them with a pointed gaze until they suddenly became very interested in the roof or their own boots.

The Jaffa then turned to Sam. "Please, continue."

Sam shook her head and coughed, badly covering her amusement. "Right," she picked up again, "so back when we were spending half our mission time behind bars, Colonel O'Neill began to rate our prisons based on what he liked to call the 'O'Neill'O'Meter'."

Daniel lifted his head briefly. "I would like to stress once again that this is absolutely _not_ what it's called. Ever."

"_Name aside_, the formula actually turns out pretty accurate. Each prison starts out with a flat score of five. Points are added or subtracted based on how favourable these five elements are: Location, Smell, Temperature and Climate, Security, and Treatment."

"That's six," Cam spoke up.

She raised both eyebrows at him. "Excuse me?"

"Location, Smell, Temperature, Climate, Security, and Treatment," Cam ticked them off on his fingers. "That's six."

"Temp and Climate count as one."

"Pretty sure they don't."

"They are," Daniel mumbled, not even bothering to look up this time. "I argued myself hoarse with Jack over this for months. They're the same."

"But –"

"Just don't."

"Fine." Cam crossed his arms. "So Temp and Climate are the same element, and they get a point if...?"

"If they're comfortable. And Security gets a point if you can escape from it." Sam paused. "The rest are pretty self-explanatory..."

"Well, their security is _awful_, in my opinion," Vala spoke up. "Points off for lack of style – I could pick that rusty cage lock in five minutes!"

Sam laughed. "That's not exactly how this works..."

"Then maybe we should change the rules! Now, this is why I always wear hair clips." She started working one of the sparkly barrettes out of her hair. "They're not just for show, you know."

"Clearly not for fashion, either," Daniel muttered.

Vala shot him a withering glare, but a grunt from Teal'c forestalled any argument. Huffing softly to herself, she turned her full attention back to picking the lock.

When Cam realized that she was actually serious about getting out, his mind shot through a dozen different ways that things could go horribly wrong. "Whoa, Vala! We are _not_ gonna be bustin' out of this place just yet."

All eyes were immediately on him, showing various degrees of confusion and frustration. Vala looked vaguely worried. "You're really missing the whole point of this thing, aren't you?"

"No, you're missing the point." Cam took a deep breath, using the pause to arrange his thoughts. "We came here in good faith to talk to these people," he said, "and the only reason that we're locked up is a case of mistaken identity. If we run now, we'll look like we're guilty and that is not gonna win us any brownie points. So we stay, we talk to that masked chick who had us locked up in the first place, and we help her understand that this was all just a big mistake."

The others seemed to understand – at the very least, they all relaxed a little – but Vala remained clearly unconvinced. "And I wondered why you ended up behind bars so often. Never mind, I've got it now. Don't mind me."

Cam raised a warning eyebrow. "I mean it, Vala! We'll keep your lockpicking skills in reserve in case things start going south, but right now we're going to take the diplomatic approach and stay put. Understood?"

"Humph." She sighed and stuck the pin back in her hair.

It wasn't exactly the shining reassurance Cam had been hoping for, but this was Vala. It would have to do.

* * *

It was about twenty minutes and a dozen arguments about the prison rating later that two of the tattooed young men entered the dark wooden hut. They approached the cage wearing identical stony expressions, their hands gripping solid metal-tipped spears.

Cam waved at them and smiled. "Hey fellas. Come to let us out?"

The men seemed unimpressed. They studied SG-1 in silence for a moment, before the one on the left – he was bigger and had more tattoos – grunted. "You do not look like much," he commented. "Who among you is your leader?"

"As in, who is the most qualified to conduct a negotiation?" Daniel asked immediately. The reactions of his team mates varied from rolling eyes to resignation to a fist in his arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

Vala blinked wide eyes at him. "They asked for the leader, not someone to bore them to death," she said sweetly.

The verbal jab went completely over his head. "But I'm the most qualified to deal with a new –"

"No offence," Sam gave him an apologetic glance, "but you don't have the best track record when it comes to first contacts."

Daniel opened his mouth to argue, then paused. "Okay, point taken," he muttered thoughtfully. "Though the majority of those situations also involved Jack, so I don't know how much blame should rest on me..."

"Oh, for the love of...!" Cam climbed to his feet and faced the two young men, who looked like they couldn't decide if they should be confused or angry about their prisoners bickering as if they didn't exist.

The big one – Cam mentally named him "Brick" – deepened his scowl. "Are you in charge?" he asked stiffly.

"Yes, I'm in charge of this mission," Cam nodded. "The rest of them are all just children; so as an act of good faith, I'm gonna spare you the hour-long dissertation that comes along with this particular argument and volunteer myself as the mature voice of reason."

"Cease your nonsense," the smaller man - he seemed like a "Rat" to Cam - spat, reluctantly undoing the complicated lock and ushering him out. "Your tongue is an unfortunate necessity, but you have other limbs that could be considered excess by the great god Loki."

Cam bit said tongue and didn't respond. He could hear at least one of his teammates expressing sympathy for him, and Jackson muttering something about how smart-mouthing the locals was a bad idea and they should just let him handle things.

But the colonel was sure that, more first-contact experience aside, letting the archaeologist take his place would have only ended badly. After all, the masked lady was a priestess – but more importantly, she was female – and the last thing they needed was for this poor chick to take every word that came out of Jackson's mouth as some sort of sexual advance. Besides, he _was_ the (on paper) leader of the team. It was all for the best.

Straightening up, he forced a polite grin at Rat and Brick, who were both glaring at him. "I'm sorry, my mistake," he said as blandly as possible. "How's about you just take me to your leader?"

Still glowering, the two of them flanked Cam on either side and led him away.

* * *

The two burly natives deposited him at the entrance to one of the larger huts. With two sharp spears at his back, Mitchell quickly understood he was to go in, and so he stepped through the curtain of leaves in the doorway and was not surprised to find the masked woman waiting at the centre of the hut.

Light streamed in through a few narrow slits near the roof, and some thick bright candles were placed on the floor. She turned around when she heard him enter.

"You are the leader?"

No wasting time on greetings then. "Yup. Cameron Mitchell," he confirmed, then went straight to making their case. "Listen - uh, Ma'am…about this whole stealing business –"

"And the others?"

" –I can assure you that we didn't …what?"

"The others who are with you," she clarified in a cool voice. "They listen to you?"

He gave a lopsided nod. "Yes… mostly… sometimes." He stopped amending and groaned inwardly. "It's complicated."

The woman crossed her arms slowly. "It shouldn't be complicated. _I _am the leader of _my_ people. Our god Loki speaks through me. And _they_ listen."

He opened his mouth to say something, thought about it for a second longer, and finally just nodded. "Fair enough."

"You were not truly sent by the gods."

"Excuse me?"

"Your woman, she lied. Loki did not send you."

He grimaced, and made a note to talk to Vala about her habit of talking before thinking. "Actually… she wasn't lying. We're… kinda… friends of the Asgard – your gods. Believe it or not, we came to make sure you and your people were… doing okay. That plan could be going better," he muttered as an afterthought.

She said nothing for a moment, and Cam took the chance to study the inside of the hut. A cot, a few earthen dishes, a mirror and a wooden chest made up most of the furnishings. Not exactly the presidential suite he imagined for a leader. Then again, these people did live in mud huts in the middle of a tropical forest, and probably had little use for any fancy trappings.

The woman spoke again:

"Why would the gods send _you_?" There was a hint of doubt in her voice, and a hint of disdain, and a hint of curiosity. It was hard to tell what she really thought, with her expressions hidden by the large wooden mask.

"It's… a long story," Cam sighed. "We're sort of… old buddies. Friends. You know, had a few encounters with them, shared a few beers, they liked us, they decided they can trust us to care for those under their protection. Like you."

He imagined Jackson would have some objections to that, but the woman did not seem to care about the historical inaccuracies.

"The gods have never sent anyone to us before. No one has visited my people for generations." She paused. "No one but the ones who stole from us… and you."

"Again, unfortunate coincidence," Mitchell admitted. "We didn't have anything to do with those other guys."

"What are they like?" At his confused expression, she clarified: "The gods? Loki?"

"Oh. Er - " Small. Grey. Bald.

Dead.

"…good," Cam chose eventually. "They're…good." He cleared his throat. "They … say hi."

Forget objections, Jackson would kill him.

"Look, I know you don't exactly have a reason to trust us," he tried again, "but we're really just here to learn about you. We don't want anything from you. And if you don't want us here, we'll be happy to leave and never come back. But there's no need to have my friends locked up."

He could tell the woman tilted her head by the way her mask moved sideways. "You care about what happens to them?" Now there was a definite note of curiosity in her voice.

"Yeah," Cam said honestly. "Just like you care what happens to your people." He raised his chin, his expression serious. "I know you feel responsible for them, and you're just trying to make sure they're safe. Right now, I'm trying to do the same thing. We're not that different," he finished in a softer tone.

There was a long pause.

The woman's hands moved to the mask. "Perhaps not, Cameron Mitchell." With an easy, practice move, she slipped off the mask, and smiled at him when their eyes met for the first time. "And if we are not so different, perhaps we can come to trust each other, after all."

Mitchell stared at her in stunned silence.

* * *

Intricate tattoos ran down both the woman's temples, continuing onto her neck and shoulder blades. The glossy black ink reflected the candlelight.

"If you have truly seen the gods, then you are blessed, Cameron Mitchell." She smiled again, and it lit up her bright green eyes. "Have you met Loki? What… what's he like?"

Once he had gotten over his surprise at seeing her – admittedly, not unattractive – face, Cam had begun to feel uncomfortable with the topic of their conversation. "Didn't personally meet him, actually."

A big part of him strongly hinted that their relationship with the Asgard was not something he should be discussing. Still, the woman seemed fascinated by the idea…

"But you have seen others? The mighty gods? The… Asgard?"

"Yeah. They were… mighty." He could see her expression clouding, and knew that unless he gave her something, their fragile rapport might break soon. "They wanted to help the people of this galaxy – people just like yours," he added. "They fought the bad guys. Won, most of the time. Kept them away from those worlds under their protection. Uh…"

"Why did they abandon us?" she demanded. "Why did they never come? Are they angry at us?"

"No! No, they're definitely not angry." The guy in charge was just a slacker. "They just had a lot on their plate. A lot to do," he rephrased, to make sure she got the metaphor. "Even the gods can't be everywhere at once, I guess."

The woman paused. By the look in her eyes, she wanted to know more, but she bit her lips and changed the subject. "We pray for their guidance still. Is that why they sent you to us?"

"Uhm…"

Her eyelids lowered halfway, and she fixed him with a curious gaze. "I have prayed to Loki each day, for many years, since I was chosen as high priestess. Is that why he sent _you_… to me?"

This was so not on the mission protocols. "Er – we came to make sure you and your people were still safe. That's all." Smooth, Mitchell.

"Safe from what? For many generations, none have come to threaten us… yet now, strangers arrive twice in our midst. What has happened out there, Cameron Mitchell?" She looked him straight in the eyes, her voice breathless with anticipation. "What is happening in the realm of the gods?"

He hesitated. "There's been some…trouble," he admitted.

"But how can that be? Who could ever threaten the mighty Asgard? They are all-powerful. They are gods!"

Again, Cam wished Jackson could be there, with his decade of experience at handling these kinds of questions. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally turn a whole world away from their gods.

"There were some… other… powerful beings," he said finally. "A couple of others, actually. But…the Asgard defeated them in the end." More or less. Maybe with a little help. "We came to make sure your world wasn't affected by the fighting."

Excitement shone in her eyes. "You speak of battles of the gods," she wondered. "You have seen the people of the great Loki, and you have witnessed their victories against evil. You are truly blessed."

"I don't know about that..."

With a few quick steps, the high priestess closed the distance between them and took his hands in hers. "You must tell me more," she asked eagerly. "I have lived all my life wanting to know more about the gods, so I can do my duty and speak their words to my people."

Cam discreetly tried to break contact, although he had to be mindful not to offend her, either. "Okay… " He carefully extricated his hands and took a step back. "You know, Jackson – he's one of the people who came with me, the… chatty one – he knows a lot more about this, and so once you let the rest of my team go, too…"

"No."

"No?" His eyebrows rose cautiously.

The woman smiled bashfully, and dropped her gaze. "Forgive me. I mean, I don't want to hear it from any of them. I wish to hear it from you." She looked at him again. "You are their leader. We are equals. Loki has sent you to me."

Oh, boy. "Listen, uh…"

"Raina."

"What?"

This time, her smile was amused. "My name. Raina. It means 'wisdom'. Though it is not as strong a name as yours, Cameron Mitchell." She took another step toward him, and Cam tried to look dignified as he backpedalled rapidly.

"About my friends –"

"They are safe. I promise you."

"Look, if you can just let them out of that jail –"

"You do not trust me." She looked hurt.

"It's not that." It was exactly that. "It's just…"

"You ask me to trust you and your people, yet you do not believe me," Raina frowned.

"No –"

But she held up a finger to stop him from speaking, as she appeared to consider the matter. "Very well, then," she said thoughtfully, in a low voice. "Perhaps we must both take a leap of faith." She bit her lips. "If that is the will of the gods, I will do it first." The spark of excitement was back when she met his eyes. "I will take your word first. Place my trust in you."

"Does that mean you'll let them go?" he asked warily.

She smiled at him and held out a hand. "Come, Cameron Mitchell. I will give you the ultimate proof of my faith."

* * *

Mitchell had followed her through the village, the natives silently clearing their way wherever they passed, but he frowned as the high priestess did not turn toward the hut where the rest of the team was imprisoned. Instead, she headed off toward the centre of the clearing.

"Raina…I thought we were going to free my friends."

"We will," she agreed. "But first, I will show you our greatest treasure. The gifts of the gods." She stopped in her tracks and turned to him. "I'll show you what the strangers have stolen from us. Perhaps then you will see why I must be so cautious now."

"I get it, I do, but like I keep telling you, we're no threat. I thought we understood each other." He gave her an honest look. "You _can_ trust me – _us_. You can trust all of us," he corrected quickly.

Maybe he shouldn't have given Jackson such a hard time over all those failed negotiations.

"I must keep my people safe," Raina retorted. "But I _will_ trust _you_, and then perhaps you will trust me, and _then_, perhaps, you will convince me to trust your friends as well. But I must be certain of them first."

"I'll vouch for them," he assured her. "They're here to talk, help, learn…just like me."

The priestess gave him a warm smile. "I doubt very much that they are just like you, Cameron Mitchell."

Yup, definitely shouldn't have judged Jackson.

"I meant, they're no threat, either," he qualified. "Heck, most of them know the Asgard better than I do. Your people are safe."

"How can we be safe, when the gods themselves are fighting? Strangers come through the circle of heavens. Our gifts of the gods are stolen. Who knows what else awaits?"

She had a point, but he could not exactly give up, either. "There's no more fighting."

"How can you know for sure?"

"Because I was there when it ended. Trust me. It's over. Your world is safe." Mysterious gate-travelling thieves notwithstanding.

But rather than make the case for the rest of the team, his words only made the woman look at him with more admiration. "You fought alongside the gods." The same smile fluttered on her lips again. "I see now why Loki sent you to me."

"Look, Raina –"

"Please." She grabbed his hand, and directed him the last few steps to a large hut, the largest he could see in the clearing. "Please, let us trust each other for now. You said you were here to learn about my people. This is the most important thing I can teach you. And then perhaps you will understand."

Cam hesitated for a second, but there was no choice. He and Jackson both had argued that they were all there to learn, and he could hardly back out now. And she and the rest of the villagers did seem friendlier now, more in line with the peaceful natives that they had found on every other protectorate SG-1 had ever visited. Perhaps the whole situation could be defused easily after all.

In any case, he had no other option but to go along with it and hoped it worked out.

He smiled back at her eager visage. "Lead the way." And he followed her inside.

* * *

Unlike the priestess's own dwelling, the large hut was more luxuriously furnished. It had solid wooden walls and no windows, but dozens of small lights flickered along the base of each wall, equally spaced to line the entire perimeter of the room and provide enough light to see clearly. A massive polished stone stood in the centre, its shape a perfect polyhedron, nearly as tall as Cam and several times as wide. Symbols that he could not read were painted here and there on its smooth sides, in intricate patches of thick black ink. The stone was surrounded by four other neat rows of the same lights – they were too small to see but Cam assumed they had to be candles. If he had to guess, he would have said this was an altar of sorts. A woven basked filled with fruit sat at its base.

There were a few similar but smaller stones in the corners of the room, some with their own offerings near them – as far as Cam could tell, always fruit or flower wreaths. He would not have admitted it out loud, but it reassured him somewhat that there were no obvious human bones anywhere in sight. Not that the Asgard protectorates were big on human sacrifices, but…

… but, there were a lot of exceptions going on today.

"Here I honour our god Loki, and seek his advice," Raina spoke softly, her voice almost reverent. "None but the high priestess may enter this place, except at her invitation."

"I'm…honoured," he matched her tone. Then he looked around, a little uncertain. What was he supposed to say to an impromptu tour of a primitive prayer ground? "That's a very…nice…rock." He mentally cringed. "I mean, the painting and the…shape. It must have taken great effort to carve it and polish it like that."

Things were not going well.

"I'm sure Loki appreciates the… workmanship."

To his surprise and relief, Raina laughed. The tattoos at her temples crinkled oddly as she did so, then settled back into a perfectly smooth design.

"We did not carve it," she informed him. "It is how it was passed down to us."

"Well…whoever did, your ancestors, they did a great job," Cam complimented. "Thank you, for showing me this place. It, uh, means a lot that –"

She laughed again, and shushed him.

The candle lights along one wall suddenly flickered out of existence, all at once, in perfect unison.

Cam took a step back. "Huh, didn't feel that draught." There had _been_ no draught, not the lightest breeze.

Raina smiled, her eyes locked on his.

The lights that lined the opposite wall went out just as smoothly.

"Okay..." He looked from one wall to the other. "So obviously it wasn't the stone you wanted to show me. What's going on here?"

The small candles at the base of the polished stone flickered out, too.

He'd never been afraid of the dark, but there was a knot in his stomach nonetheless.

"Raina… I get it. There's something special about this place. Now how about we get out and you get to the tell part of this little show?"

She laughed again. The hut was dim enough now that he could not see her face as clearly, but her shining gaze stayed on him. Her smile looked brighter in the copper firelight.

"It is not the place that does it," she said breathily.

The candles all came back to life as one, and the inside of the hut lit up once more. Mitchell looked from left to right again, then back at the high priestess.

"It's you." His voice was cautious, as a dozen possibilities ran through his mind.

Primitive natives were one thing, but primitive natives with a leader who could … do things… that was another problem entirely. And the fire part made him particularly concerned.

"Don't be afraid, Cameron Mitchell." She took a step toward him and he had to fight his better instincts to stand his ground. Raina seemed to appreciate that, as her lips parted in another smile. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"You didn't," he assured her. "It's just that I've not met a lot of people who can do," he nodded to the candles lining the nearest wall, "_that_. Not that it's not a neat trick, but how exactly are you doing it?"

She tapped her temple.

"It's the gifts of the gods."

"Yeah… I'm gonna need a little more than that, if you don't mind. Last I checked, the Asgard didn't control fire with their minds." He did take a step back this time, and muttered: "And I _really_ thought we got rid of the last guys who did…"

There was genuine curiosity in her eyes. "Who?"

He gave her a suspicious look. "You mean you don't know?"

Raina shook her head. "We don't know who gave us the gifts. It must have been the gods. We merely use them, for as long as anyone remembers, from our parents and their parents… it is our way of life."

"_We_? Are you telling me _all_ your people out there can pull this?" Just when he thought things could not get worse.

"Not all," she seemed eager to explain. "We do not have enough for all, and my people grow more numerous. Only some wear the gifts permanently, like I do. Those who are most skilled at using them. The others only wear them as needed, and share them amongst families."

"_Wear_…? Use?" Cam's eyebrows rose in confusion. "Hang on, we're talking a type of technology here, not some voodoo mind trick?"

Her lips curled in disgust. "_Technology_. It's what the others called it. Before they killed one of my young priests in training and stole the gifts from him."

"_That's_ what your mystery thieves took from you?" He shook his head. "Raina, I'm sorry…I'm not really getting this. What kind of gifts, or technology, or whatever you wanna call it, are we talkin' about here? What allows you to control those candles with your mind?"

It wasn't until she tapped her temple again, her fingers leaving an ever-so-slight indentation on the glossy ink, that it dawned on him what she had been referring to all along.

Cam's jaw dropped. "The _tattoos_?"

* * *

"At least it's got a sturdy roof and walls to keep the weather out, if that storm we keep hearing hits. That's better than the prison on Hadante." Sam's enthusiasm for the game was starting to wan, but they had to pass the time until Cam returned. Their only other topic of conversation had been trying to guess the identity of the thieves they were being mistaken for, and that had been equally futile.

Daniel shook his head. "It smells like dirt and mould. Point off."

"That is the smell of good soil and harvested land," Teal'c informed him. "It is not unpleasant."

"Maybe to someone who doesn't have any allergies...Vala what are you doing?" Daniel's question turned all eyes to Vala, who had once again started fiddling with the lock and her hairpin with a look of intense concentration.

She glanced up when she heard her name, and seemed genuinely surprised to find them all staring. "What?"

"Did Colonel Mitchell not forbid the attempt of escape for the time being?" Teal'c prompted.

"It's not going to be an attempt, it's going to be a success." She winked, but contrary to the desired effect, the three of them looked unamused. Vala sighed. "Cameron was taken away ages ago!" she pouted. "If whatever his plan was was going to work, we would have been freed by now. In my experience, this is about the time that _we_ have to start planning a daring rescue. "

In an effort to be optimistic, Sam gave an unconvincing smile. "Negotiations take time, Vala. I'm sure Cam's fine." Daniel and Teal'c both nodded, but neither of them looked any more convinced.

Vala nodded patronizingly. "Mhm. I'm sure you're right," she said. "I'm just going to work on getting this lock open...just in case."

* * *

The lights around the central shrine piece came to life all at once, again. This time, Mitchell was kneeling by the base of the rectangular stone, examining them keenly.

"Yup, those aren't your run of the mill candles," he murmured, more to himself than to the priestess. "Looks like some sort of… fancy gas line or somethin', each little valve lighting its own flame. Heck of an illumination system." He glanced at the neat rows of lights lining the walls of the hut. "And I'm guessing that's more of 'em over there. And you… control the ignition spark. With your _thoughts_."

He looked up at Raina, then back at the polished stone altar.

"Call me crazy," he said under his breath, with a slow shake of his head, "but I was expecting a little more Fred Flintstone, and a little less… Inspector Gadget."

The high priestess laughed softly. "I do not know the words you use. But I can use the gifts of the gods to control the lights, yes."

Cam rose from the floor, and gave the glossy tattoos on her temples another wary look.

"Okay, you might have to explain that one to me again," he asked, shaking his head, "'cause where I come from, body art doesn't double as remote controls."

She tilted her head to give him a curious look. "So the gods have never spoken to you of the gifts they gave us."

"Nope, pretty sure no one mentioned that bit of trivia." If only he could have two minutes with the genius who had last updated the Asgard database entry on these people… "So… what else can you do?"

Raina beamed at him. She turned her gaze to the polished stone at the centre of the hut, and a second later, a small ledge slid outwards and down on one side, revealing a previously unnoticeable compartment. After another moment, similar compartments opened on the other three sides.

"Oh-kay...controlling mysterious alien stone, check." Cautiously, Mitchell peered inside one of the openings. "That looks like a data crystal…I think." He gave the woman a questioning glance, but she was watching him with equal curiosity.

"You have seen them before?"

"Not these ones in particular, but something along these lines, yeah." He glanced at her for permission before picking up the small device. "The design's a little different from the Asgard tech I know, but then again this thing does look pretty ancient … maybe it's the Asgard version of a floppy disk… " He looked up at Raina again. "What's on them?"

"We do not know."

"That… thing…" he tapped his temple for illustration, "doesn't let you read them?"

She seemed surprised again. "No. I can only open the shrine. I do not know what the gods meant for us to do with the artefacts in it. They are sacred to my people."

His head was starting to hurt. "So these aren't some sort of… instruction manual," he clarified. It made no sense. These people lived in rudimentary huts in the jungle, and used simple spears and wooden clubs for weapons. Yet here they had well-designed gas lines for indoor lighting, weird alien hydraulics and data crystals. "Raina, how did you know how to use your…gifts…? Who taught you?"

"We have always known," she said naturally. "For as long as anyone remembers, my people had the gifts of the gods. It is how we care for our world. It is how we grow our food. How we harvest our crops."

"Crops?" So much for Jackson's hunter-gatherer story.

The woman gave him another eager smile. "By the river. I will take you there."

She held out a hand in invitation. but Mitchell hesitated again.

"Uhm – maybe we should go release my friends first."

A shadow passed over her face. "We'll go visit the river, first." There was tense silence for a second, then Raina's face relaxed back into a smile. "I'm sorry, Cameron Mitchell. I have been the leader of my people for so long, that I became used to my wishes being obeyed. But Loki sent you here to be my equal. So, I _ask_ it of you instead… _please_…" She took a step closer to him, an entreating look in her wide eyes. "Give me a few more minutes to show you our home. I enjoy your company. Don't leave just yet."

Cam sighed involuntarily. "I enjoy your company too," he said honestly. "In fact, this is going much better than I was hoping. But –"

"No… " she whispered, holding up a hand to stop his argument. "Leave it at that. This is much more than I hoped, as well," she admitted softly, then her voice became more energetic as she smiled again. "So let's enjoy a few more minutes together, and then you will do as you wish."

He looked at the high priestess's hopeful expression, and could not think of a way to turn her down. He had to admit she had been nothing but open and friendly with him, and had willingly shared the secrets of her people. It wasn't her fault that her culture made no sense. Plus, the more he learned, the better he would understand how they could help this protectorate. That was what the Asgard legacy was all about, right?

The colonel let out another sigh before finally returning a smile of his own. "You're right, a few minutes won't make a difference. I _did_ always like sightseeing…"

That earned him another happy smile from Raina. "Come, then. See what else we can do with the gifts that the gods left us."

"Yeah, maybe we can go over that again," Cam commented as she pulled him toward the exit to the hut. "I'm still a little hazy on how that Jedi ink of yours works."

She paused in her tracks and turned slowly to face him; a smile was spreading over her lovely face. "Some questions I cannot answer for you... but perhaps you would like the chance to get the answers for yourself."

Before Mitchell could ask her for clarifications, Raina put a hand to her temple, and pressed against the thick black ink, until a corner of it rose slightly from her skin. Slowly, carefully, she peeled a portion of the tattoo away, until it came off completely. Then she held it up almost reverently for him to see.

It was about as long as her palm, and only half as wide; an impossibly delicate film of what looked like glossy ink, its intricate designs still visible even without the contrast of her skin.

The high priestess held it out to Cam.

"I did promise I would show you everything, Cameron Mitchell."

* * *

**A/N: Credits to domina tempore for co-writing this episode! And to the rest of the team for beta-reading and editing! And huge thanks to all of you reading and reviewing this story. We're glad to have you on board! **


End file.
